Schism
by Hamliet
Summary: After a chance encounter with a runaway cat, Rey leaves the city of Jakku for the first time in her life and enrolls in a new high school, where she bonds with the overachieving Poe Dameron and Finn, a fellow foster kid. Identified as gifted, she's placed in the same classes as an emo kid who really wants to tutor her... TFA pseudo-retelling set in high school. Reylo & Stormpilot.
1. Chapter 1

**My love for high school stories and my love for Star Wars has finally combined; what can I say? This story starts out as kind of a TFA retelling, although it will branch out on its own and certain plot points will be altered. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

After five texts go unanswered, Ben's phone finally erupts into its heavy metal ringtone. His tutor peers at him, shaking his head as if the interruption is a personal affront.

"I'm sorry," Ben stammers. He answers and his tone immediately slips from apologetic to annoyed. _"What?"_

"Where are you, young man?"

Ben stabs at the grid paper he's been drawing parabolas on with his pencil. "Mom. Chill. I'm at Snoke's. Studying."

"Ben, it's almost ten. You have school tomorrow. I want you home and I want you home in exactly fifteen minutes, or I will be taking your keys for the next week."

"Mom, we're almost done—can't—"

"This is not open to negotiation!" She hangs up, and Ben turns to his tutor, the man he trusts more than he trusts his own parents.

"I take it you have to leave," Snoke drawls.

"Or else I'll be walking to our lessons." Ben rolls his eyes and glances out the window. It's too dark to even make out the outlines of his car. He doesn't dare get up, though, not without Snoke's permission.

"You can go," Snoke dismisses him. "Finish these problem sets and bring them next time we meet."

Ben nods, gathering his books and stuffing them into his fraying bag, which, like everything else he owns, is black.

He arrives home to find his mother waiting with her arms crossed. Behind her stands their elderly butler, Threepio, who shakes his somehow-still-golden head and mutters about how disappointed Ben's mother is in him.

"You missed your uncle's visit," Mom informs him.

"Let's not pretend he would want to see me." After Ben stopped his tutoring sessions with Luke in favor of Snoke, his relationship with his uncle has been frosty at best.

Mom sighs. "Ben—"

"How's his new foster kid?" Ben deflects, throwing his bag onto the ground.

'He's actually quite a nice young man, very polite—Luke was wondering if you might show him around—Ben! Get back here!"

"You can't just walk away from your mother!" gasps Threepio.

"You're not my father!" Ben yells back as he stomps up the stairs. It's the trump card he can always play—his parents' on-off marriage is definitely _off_ now, and just yesterday Ben overheard Mom talking to Threepio about seeing a divorce lawyer.

"Will you consider giving Finn a ride to school tomorrow?" Mom calls, weary. "Luke could, of course—but he leaves earlier and showing up with the principal on his first day isn't ideal."

Ben wants to scream. "Fine!" He slams his bedroom door and throws himself down on his bed, screaming into his pillow.

* * *

"See you soon!" Finn watches as his new foster father, Luke Skywalker, waves and heads for the door. "Don't eat yourself sick. Ben should be here by 7:30."

Finn gazes at the omelet and stack of blueberry pancakes Luke apparently got up at five to make. "I—thank you."

Luke nods and ducks outside.

Finn's been in foster care since he was born, and never once has a parent welcomed him the way Luke has, taking him to buy his own room decorations, taking him to a basketball game, introducing him to his sister, who's the freaking mayor of D'Qar. Usually the families Finn's stayed with pretend he doesn't exist, instead of parading him around like Luke has.

Maybe this is what being part of a real family would be like, Finn thinks as he sits down. The cheesy onion and bacon omelet melts in his mouth as Luke's fluffy silver cat, Artoo, jumps on his lap.

Finn finishes and starts to wash the dishes before he notices a note taped to the window above the sink: _Finn, leave the dishes! We'll do them tonight. Luke_

A horn blares from outside, and Finn grabs his new book bag, hurrying outside towards a black car with windows tinted way too dark for a high school student.

"Um, hi," Finn says as he opens the passenger door to see a tall kid with long black hair staring at him with eyes caked in eyeliner blacker than his hair. "I'm Finn."

"Ben. Get in."

"I met your mom last night," Finn chatters nervously. "Wow, you've got the mayor for a mom and the school principal as your uncle? And Luke says you're a genius, too—like, a certified—"

Ben backs out of the driveway and pauses on the street, looking at Finn like he's an alien. "Do you mind?"

"Mind what?" Finn squeaks.

"Forget it." Ben shakes his head. "You like music, Finn?"

"Yeah! Yeah, I like music. I like—"

Ben turns on the radio and screaming instruments and screaming people fill the car. Ben cranks up the volume so that even if Finn had wanted to mention how uncertain he was that this actually qualified as _music_ , Ben wouldn't have heard him.

By the time they arrive at D'Qar High, Finn's eardrums are ringing.

"Right," Ben says. "The office is on your left when you go in the main entrance. Even you can't miss it."

Finn flinches.

"They'll know you're new and assign you someone to show you around."

"You aren't going to do that?" Finn asks as he notices more kids arriving. His classmates.

"No." Ben walks off in the opposite direction, towards the athletic field.

Finn shows up in the office wondering how he's going to explain to Luke that his nephew apparently can't stand him, and they only exchanged a few sentences. But Luke smiles as if he's thrilled to see Finn and doesn't ask questions. Maybe Luke knows what Ben's like.

"Phasma," Luke greets a girl who is literally as tall as Ben has to be. She _towers_ over Finn. "This is Finn. Finn, Phasma will be showing you around today."

Her eyes sweep Finn up and down. "Nice to meet you."

"And you," Finn says, relieved that _someone's_ actually being polite to him besides the principal.

"English first, huh?" Phasma says, snapping chewing gum as she peers at his schedule. "Me, too."

"Is it a good subject?"

Phasma shrugs. "It's all right." She holds out the gum packet. "Want one?"

"Is it allowed?"

"Of course not." She grins, and Finn so desperately wants a friend that he takes a piece. _Cinnamon flavored._ He hates cinnamon.

"We've got the same subject right before lunch too," Phasma observes. "Physics with Ackbar. That's good. You can eat lunch with us, if you want."

Finn smiles. "Sounds great."

After a prolonged discussion on _Hamlet_ , Finn endures calculus and world history alone before meeting up with Phasma again in physics. Her tall, blond head stands out above all of their peers—except for Ben, who sits near Phasma with a scowl on his face.

"He's the worst," Ben mumbles as Phasma waves Finn over, and for a moment Finn's heart freezes, until he realizes Ben isn't talking about him.

Instead, Ben, Phasma, and a skinny redheaded boy are all looking at another boy who chats jovially with their teacher. The boy's jet black, tousled hair and leather jacket all scream _douche_ to Finn, but his smile seems so genuine that Finn can't help hoping otherwise.

"Who's that?" Finn inquires of Phasma.

"Poe Dameron. He's the overachieving type. You know. Great grades, on the football team, teachers fighting to write his college recommendations. He also interns part-time for Ben's mom."

"And Ben's jealous of him," taunts the redheaded boy. Judging from his beady eyes alone, Finn isn't sure he likes this kid.

"This is Hux," Phasma introduces them. "Hux, Finn. Finn'll be eating lunch with us today."

"My GPA is ten times higher than his," Ben scoffs.

"Snoke would say if he's bothering you so much, you should teach him a lesson," Hux points out.

Ben rolls his eyes. "I'm not like that, Hux."

"Who is Snoke?" Finn asks. Ben looks at him like he's a worm.

"Ben's tutor. He's better than even Mr. Skywalker, apparently. Oh, that's right, you're staying with him, aren't you?" Hux's voice is terribly sweet.

"Shut it, Hux," Ben snaps. "I don't want to talk about that man."

 _Maybe it's not me after all,_ Finn thinks. _Maybe he just hates his uncle._ Though how anyone could hate Luke, he doesn't know.

After class, Finn leaves the classroom, tagging along behind Phasma and Hux as a scowling Ben stalks away from them.

"He's not nearly as special as he thinks he is," Hux gripes.

 _Why are these kids so miserable?_ Finn wonders as he passes the boy the others were hating on earlier. _Poe_. He's on his phone, and his eyes are wide and his tone wavering. "Are you sure, Mom?"

"He's for real talking to his mom during the day," Hux grumbles. "He's such a—"

Ben walks back over to them, observing Poe's distressed face. "Are you sure?" Poe keeps asking. "You've looked—"

Ben rolls his eyes as Phasma gives him a pointed look.

Finn crosses his arms across his chest, heart thumping. He'd give anything to have a mother to call during the day.

* * *

Rey staggers home from Jakku High, hating herself as she remembers deciding not to wash the dishes this morning and now has to add that to the eternal list of chores Unkar Plutt will be expecting her to complete before she can even attempt the mountain of homework her teachers assigned.

A soft meow comes form the overgrown bushes guarding the door. Rey ignores it until she hears it again. _Meow._

Curiosity gets the best of her. Crouching down, Rey digs through the brush, scraping her thumb on a thorn and wincing.

With a purr, a rather rotund orange-and-white tabby leaps out at her, straight into her arms.

"Whoa!" Rey tries to put the cat down, but it mews and crawls onto her lap. "No! Go away!"

The cat looks at her with huge, pleading dark eyes. With a sigh, Rey extends her hand to rub behind its ears. The cat purrs. "Where did you come from?" she wonders.

Almost instantly, she spots something silver dangling from the cat's collar. "You're not going to bite me, are you?" she asks as she reaches for it.

 _Beebee-Ate._

 _Property of Poe Dameron._

There's also a phone number.

"Well, Beebee-Ate," Rey muses, getting to her feet and scooping the cat up in her arms. "I can't say much for your owner's taste in names, but I'll give him a call."

The cat rubs its head against her shoulder as if to thank her.

"What—" intones the gravely, cold tone of her foster father. "—the hell is that?"

"A cat," Rey answers.

"We don't keep pets in this household! Keeping you is enough of a burden!" Unkar waves his stubby arms. "Especially not a cat—think of the hair it'll shed everywhere—"

"It won't be staying," Rey insists. "He's—" _She's?_ Rey hasn't checked. "—got a collar on. I'm just going to call the owner. I'm sure they'll come pick him up."

"If they don't come by tomorrow," Unkar threatens. "I'm taking it to the pound."

"They'll come," Rey insists, although she has no way of knowing. The kitty growls as Unkar comes closer.

"And you, girl," Unkar spits. "You left all the dishes this morning!"

"I'll do them," Rey promises. "Right now. I'll—I'll put the cat in my room, and get right to work."

"You will," Unkar agrees, reaching out and grabbing her arm so tightly Rey gasps. "Or there'll be hell to pay."

Beebee-Ate hisses.

"Don't do that to me, cat!" Unkar's hand flies out to slap Rey. She stumbles but manages to hold on to the squirming animal. She tastes blood and figures her lip must be split again. Not that anyone ever noticed enough to care. None of her teachers ever asked about Rey's black eyes and the purple marks on her arms. All they cared about was Rey raising their school's ratings with her genius levels of intelligence.

"Lock it in your room," Unkar orders, and Rey scurries to obey. Judging from his mood and the disruption with Beebee-Ate, Rey already knows her dinner is at stake. Unkar withholds food from her at least once a week, sometimes more.

Rey sets Beebee-Ate down, and the cat rubs against her again. _I wish I could ask your owner to pick me up, too,_ she thinks wistfully as she dials the number.

* * *

"Someone found your cat?" Lor San Tekka asks, smiling at Poe as he hangs up his phone.

Poe nods, a lump in his throat. He's been so worried since lunchtime, when his mother called to tell him Beebee-Ate had gotten outside. "He's in Jakku."

"How'd he get all the way over there?" Lor wonders.

Poe shakes his head. "Well, we do live close to the town line." He glances at the clock. Four. It's already getting dark out. The perks of winter. _Not_. "The girl on the phone said I needed to pick him up tonight."

"You can go right now," Lor says.

"Are you sure?"

"You're a hard worker, Poe, and the mayor knows it. She's not going to be mad you skipped one day of filing to rescue your cat." The old man crosses his arms and smiles down at Poe. "If you want, I'll even call your parents and let them know where you are."

"Nah, I can text them. I _better_ text them. Mom's worried, too." Poe whips out his phone.

"Drive safely," Lor calls after him as Poe heads out. "And wear more layers tomorrow!"

Poe smirks. It never ends—his mother, his father, the mayor herself, Lor—they all badger him to wear a scarf, a hat, gloves. Poe doesn't care, though. He likes the cold.

He traipses around back to the parking lot, where his old hunk of junk sits. He and his father worked hard to get the car up and running all summer, which is why when he sees slashes in the tires, his jaw drops and he freezes.

 _How can I get Beebee-Ate now?_

There's always the employee car, Poe remembers. But still:

 _Who did this?_

Poe hears footsteps pattering behind him, then slamming into the pavement. He whirls around as someone pushes his head into the side of the car.

* * *

Finn watches from the shadows. When he'd stopped by the office to tell Luke to say two new friends had asked him to hang out after school, his foster father seemed pleased. Ben had vanished after the final bell rang to go to his tutoring session. Why a genius needs tutoring, Finn doesn't know.

But Finn hadn't expected Hux and Phasma's idea of fun to be breaking into the mayor's parking lot and slashing the tires of a boy Finn hasn't even properly met.

 _What would Leia think?_ Finn wonders, thinking of the kind woman who told jokes the night before. _What would Luke think? That I'm some kind of delinquent?_

And now it's gone to a whole new level. Hux insisted he just wanted to see Poe's face, but when Phasma whispered plans to Mitaka and Nines to beat Poe up, Finn's stomach tightened itself into a knot.

He's never been in a fight before. Finn doesn't want to start now, not when he finally feels hopeful about his life, not when he's got a kind foster father, not when he's attending a good school…

Hux stands by with Finn, watching and laughing. Finn wants to vomit as he watches Poe try desperately to throw a punch and get knocked down.

"Think you're so tough?" Phasma taunts. She sends her boot into Poe's face.

"Stop it!" Finn shouts.

Hux gapes at him, but no one else pays Finn any mind even as he storms over to them. "I _said,_ stop it! Leave him alone!"

"Hit him too," Phasma says to Mitaka, who lunges at Finn.

"Didn't you hear him? Stop it!" Poe yells, leaping to his feet and throwing Mitaka to the ground.

Finn sends his fist into Phasma's face. "Let's go!" he shouts, because running is the only thing that's ever saved him from bullies. He takes off down the street and realizes that Poe's hurtling after him.

"This isn't over!" Phasma hollers, and Finn glances behind him to see her pulling out the same pocketknife she used to slash Poe's tires.

"She won't really stab us, will she?" Finn pants.

Poe casts him a _why are you asking me_ sort of look. His left eye is already swelling.

"What are we gonna do?"

"I have an idea!" Poe skids to a stop besides a silver, unremarkable car. "Get in!"

"You have two cars?"

"I have a key!" Poe yanks the door open. Finn barely dives inside before Poe takes off, speeding straight at Phasma, Nines, Hux, and the rest. Finn screams, but Poe turns to the side at the last minute.

"Oh my God," Finn says as realization dawns on him. "You just stole a car!"

"I have a key! It's for employees—we're borrowing—" Poe's brow creases. "What's your name?"

"Finn!"

"Hi Finn, I'm Poe. Good to meet you!"

"You _stole_ a _car!_ I could be held liable for this!" Finn thought Poe was supposed to be a _good_ kid.

"We're borrowing, Finn. It's actually a car that's available for all employees to use, although I'm not technically an employee. We'll tell Lor San Tekka after we get back."

"After—we're going back _now_ , aren't we?"

"We have to go to Jakku first," Poe informs him. "I need to get my cat!"


	2. Chapter 2

Finn doesn't even have a cell phone to call Luke. He wants to puke. "You've gotta to be kidding me!"

"Why?"

"It's just a cat!"

"The girl who found him was pretty explicit that I needed to pick him up _tonight_ , and with my car ruined—look, Finn, they won't mind. Trust me."

"Then can you _call_ them and confirm that?"

Poe digs in his pocket for his cell. The car swerves. "Here. You do it."

"No," Finn refuses. "I don't want to get in trouble."

"We're not going to."

"This is just great," Finn says. _First I fall in with some potentially murderous thugs, and now I'm in the company of a sort-of car thief_. There's no way Luke will let him stay now.

"Hey, you're staying with Mr. Skywalker, aren't you?" Poe glances at him.

"Yeah." Finn looks out at the trees whizzing by them, gray and navy blue in the night. "I've only been there since Saturday, and I'd _like_ not to move again before graduating, okay?" Finn feels Poe glance at him again and wishes the other boy would just keep his eyes on the damn road.

"Trust me, Mr. Skywalker isn't going to kick you out. He knows me. Sort of. I know his sister. We'll work it out. I promise." Poe slows for a red light.

"Can you just drop me off on a corner here?"

"Would you even know how to get back home?"

Finn shakes his head. "I can ask someone."

"Not in this neighborhood. We're just like two minutes from Jakku. You don't want to be out at night in Jakku. I promise." Poe tosses his phone at Finn. "Here. You can pull up the address, can't you? The passcode's—"

"I don't have a phone." No one's ever bought him one.

"Really?" Poe sighs. "Then can you drive while I—"

"I can't drive either, _Poe_ ," Finn shoots back.

"Oh. Okay. Wow." Poe bites his lip.

Finn crosses his arms. He doesn't like being thought of like this. He doesn't like the pity he can sense in Poe.

"I could teach you," Poe offers. "Not _now_. But like, later. In the coming weeks."

Finn's heart leaps. With Luke's job, he doubts the man has the time to teach him. "Maybe." He swallows. "Yeah. Yeah, I'd like that."

"Cool." Poe holds his phone out again. "I'll talk you through how to use my GPS, okay?"

* * *

Rey scrubs the pots as hard as she can. Her elbow throbs and blisters threaten to break though her already calloused hands, but Unkar's watching her and she has to work harder.

"Here." She holds it up for his inspection. "Good enough?"

"You'll get half of your meal tonight. If that guy shows up for the cat. If not, you won't be eating at all."

 _Prick_. Rey wants to throw the soapy water in Unkar's eyes.

"Go out back to the shop," Unkar directs. "Get me the records books."

Rey mock-salutes him when he turns his back. She strides out to Unkar's mechanic shop without so much as a coat, which should be closed by now. Even Teedo, who claims to work better when everyone else has gone home, has left.

Something moves in the shadows, and Rey's heart lurches. "Who's there?"

No response.

"Cat owner?"

Nothing. And then—two men, bearded and heavy, rush out of the side door, arms laden with engine parts.

"Hey!" Rey screams, giving chase. She gains them quickly, and one of them swings his arms out, dropping the parts to grab her and hold her.

"You're real pretty, you know that," he breathes. Rey's stomach recoils at the sour stench of beer on his breath, and she brings up her legs to kick the other one straight in his ample belly. He topples over, and Rey swings her legs up and back, straight into the other's crotch. His hold loosens and Rey bites him.

The men both scramble to their feet, racing past her as Rey guards the engine parts, holding out a hammer as a weapon. But more footsteps echo behind her. Bile rising, Rey whirls around, intent on slamming it into whatever thug's nose she could, but two teenage boys throw their hands up.

"Whoa!" cries one.

"Are you all right?" cries the other.

"Cat owner?" she asks wearily.

"That's me," clarifies the first boy, running his hands over his hair. "You the one who called?"

"I'm Finn," says the other boy as Rey nods, lowering the hammer.

"I'm Rey."

"And I'm Poe."

"Right." She glances at the engine parts and shakes her head. "Beebee-Ate's this way." She crouches and gathers the engine parts. "I'll just put these away."

"We'll help," Finn says quickly, and Rey frowns. It's unusual, people helping her.

When everything's put away and Rey's secured another lock on the door, she heads back to the house. They follow. "Unkar's going to be pissed about those thieves."

"Who's Unkar?" asks Finn.

"My foster dad."

"You're a foster kid?" He gapes at her. "Me too."

She smiles in spite of herself. "In here." She ducks inside and points to her bedroom as Unkar rises from the couch.

"What is this?"

"These are the cat owners. Or, he is," Rey says, pointing to Poe.

"Where they the ones making that ruckus?"

"No." Rey puts her hands on her hips. "That was—some people tried to break in again. I got the engine parts away from them, and everything's fine—Teedo must've forgotten to lock—"

"Oh sure, blame Teedo," sneers Unkar. "You should have thought to check—"

"Oh sure, blame me," Rey snaps. "You're the one who works—"

Unkar's fist flies out and lands on her face. Rey staggers back.

"What the hell?" Finn yells, trying to jump in front of Rey, but she shoves him back.

"We have company," she reminds Unkar.

He shakes his head, glowering. "Just wait until they're gone, little girl."

"Where's my cat?" Poe demands, stepping closer to Rey.

"In here." Rey opens the door to her sparse room, and Beebee-Ate lunges at Poe, who cradles the cat to his chest.

"Come with us," Finn urges her.

Rey's heart leaps at his words, but she shakes her head because she can't believe it.

"Great minds think alike," Poe chimes in, glancing around and noticing the peeling paint, the threadbare plaid quilt, the rag doll she sewed herself at age ten. "Leave here with us."

"And go where?" Rey asks, but the wheels in her mind are already turning. She could run away. It's not like she hasn't thought of it before. And if these two are willing to help her…

"Get what you need," Poe says. "Or else I'm calling child protective services tomorrow."

Rey envisions what Unkar might do to her once they leave. That and the memory of her last court visit, when she again refused to move and the judge sighed and told her " _you already know the truth, child. They're never coming back."_ She's had three months to contemplate that her parents' abandonment might be permanent. Besides, she'll be eighteen later in less than two years, and after that…

Rey makes her decision. "I'm coming _now_." She grabs her backpack, shoving underwear and clothes into it. "Let's go."

As Poe and Finn scuttle past Unkar, Rey faces him. "Just thought you'd want to know I'm leaving. Enjoy not getting your government checks anymore."

"You can't do that!" Unkar reaches for her, and for the first time Rey fights back, throwing her fist into _his_ face. Howling, he staggers backwards and falls on his bottom.

"Let's go!" Finn shouts, and she charges out the door, into the old silver car waiting. Poe dumps Beebee-Ate into the backseat with her.

"Oh my God," Finn says. "This day is _crazy_."

"I've never done anything like this before," Rey says, giddiness spinning through her. She feels light. She feels free. No more Unkar.

And no more child's dreams. _Come back!_

Beebee-Ate purrs and settles next to her, kneading her lap as if to comfort her.

"I can ask my parents if you can stay with us for the night," Poe tells her as he takes a sharp right.

A siren erupts behind them. Rey gasps, spinning around.

"Oh shit," Poe groans as he pulls over.

* * *

"Get out of the car," orders an older voice, authoritative and cranky. "All of you!"

"Even the cat?" Poe asks.

"Not the cat, smart-ass. Put your hands where I can see them."

Poe, Finn, and Rey all climb out, hands held in the air. Poe clears his throat, thinking of how furious his parents are going to be, of how he promised Finn they wouldn't get in trouble and _now_ look at them. "If I was speeding, Officer, I'm not from Jakku—I didn't see a sign—"

"Which one of you is Poe Dameron?" growls the tallest, hairiest man Poe has ever seen in his entire life.

"That's me," Poe stammers. "Do you need my license?"

"Nah, I recognize you," says the shorter man, smiling at him.

His face jars Poe's memory. "Han Solo!" The mayor's estranged husband. Poe's never met him, but he's seen his face in photographs the mayor keeps on her desk.

"That's right," affirms the man. "Lor called me when he found your car with its tires slashed and the employee car missing."

"I was going to return it. Honest. I just—my cat—"

Han shakes his head. "This is over a _cat_?"

"Beebee-Ate's a special cat," Poe mutters.

"And who might you two be?" Han asks, crossing his arms as he studies them. Poe's now starting to wish he'd listened to all the adults in his life. It is _cold_. Finn at least has a puffy white parka. Poor Rey is just wearing her ragged t-shirt and shivering.

"Finn Windu."

Han's eyes widen. "Luke's new kid?"

Finn nods.

"I kinda dragged him into all this," Poe puts in. "Honest. There were these punks who tried to beat me up—"

Han waves his hand, turning to Rey. "And how do you fit into this?"

"I'm the one who found the cat," Rey says quickly. "And I left with them. I'm running away."

Han blows his breath out. "Well, that's illegal."

"From my foster father. He beats me." She points to the split in her lip.

"We saw him hit her," Finn confirms, and Poe nods.

"Let me see that." Han steps closer to her, studying her face and scowling. "Well, Poe, you better take yourself and your cat back to the mayor's office. Your mother's waiting for you there, and then you're going to file a police report about the slashed tires with Lando Calrissian. He's a buddy of mine."

"I'd really rather not," Poe says quickly.

Han's eyebrows fly up. "Well, it's your choice." He turns to Finn and Rey. "You two are coming with me. Don't give me that face. I have to figure some things out to make your situation legal, and as for you, Luke's not going to be mad, so don't look at me like I took your Christmas present away from you." He turns back to Poe. "And I'm going to follow you until you turn into the mayor's parking lot. No funny business. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Poe agrees. He casts Finn and Rey apologetic looks as he climbs back into the car, wondering if he offers to pay for gas if his mother will ground him for less time.

Beebee-Ate crawls onto the passenger seat. "Yeah, you," Poe says grumpily. "This is all your fault."

Beebee-Ate mews.

* * *

"If you don't mind staying with two old codgers for the night, you're welcome to stay with Chewie and myself," Han tells Rey.

She nods. "That'd be fine."

"Great." Han pulls into the driveway of a colonial style house. "Here you go, Finn."

"Thanks." Gloomily, Finn pulls himself out of the car.

"Hey, kid," Han says, leaning across his partner. "If there's one thing Luke's good at, it's listening. Trust me. He and I have been friends for years."

"You have?" Rey inquires, leaning forward in her seat.

"Yup. I was married to his sister. Am married. It's complicated." Han starts the ignition. "Let's go home, okay, Chewie?"

The other cop nods, his long hair swaying.

"As for you," Han says. "I'll check in with an old friend tomorrow. See what we can arrange. I'm not going to let you disappear off the radar like so many runaways, but I'm also not going to let you go back to that monster. Okay?"

She nods. Either way, there's still no Unkar Plutt in her future, and Rey grins.

"What's your full name?" Han asks as he drives off.

"Rey Kenobi."

"Really?" Han and Chewie exchange a look. "Well then."

"Did you know my parents?" Rey asks. If Han's a cop, she wouldn't be surprised. Of all the reasons she can think for parents to abandon their children, the majority of them involve criminal activity.

"No."

Chewie humphs.

"I may have known your grandfather, though. Ben Kenobi."

Rey stares out the window. "I never met him."

"He was a good man." Han's voice is rough, and he changes the subject. "Tell me more about this foster dad of yours."

Rey leans back. "He's a mechanic…" She drones on and on until Han finally steers the cruiser into a parking garage.

"I know it's not much," Han says as he shows her into the small apartment—Chewie's apartment, Rey's guessing, judging by the way the taller man quickly gather personal items from the bedroom and beckons her in. A pillow and blanket already rest on the couch, and Rey wonders about what Han said earlier, about his complicated marriage situation.

"It's fine." Rey smiles tightly. It's more than fine—it's overwhelming. So many kind people… she's met more of them tonight than she has in her entire life.

 _I left Unkar Plutt,_ she thinks as she lies down on the bed, which is too soft. She shifts uncomfortably. _I left Jakku._

 _I'm never going back._

* * *

"Sorry for the early wake up call," Han apologizes as they make their way into the parking garage. The sunlight is still orange and peaking. "But my judge friend is squeezing us in. Chewie, you want to drive?"

Chewie nods and catches the keys Han throws at him as Han dials a number. No one picks up, and Han scowls.

They arrive at the courthouse and Rey's heart drops. She's been to too many of these hearings. _What if they make me go back to Plutt?_

 _No._ This time she has a cop arguing on her behalf, and this time, she's not begging to stay in the same home, clutching her rag doll of a dream that her parents will come back for her.

A man with tousled graying hair and a beard arrives shortly after they do. He nods at Han and turns to Rey, holding out his hand. "You must be Rey Kenobi. I'm Luke Skywalker."

"Finn stays with you," Rey stammers, taking his hand.

"That he does." Luke smiles. "And if things go well today, you might be joining us."

Rey's eyes widen as hope shoots through her, tingling and electrifying. "Really?"

"Well," Han interjects. "I'm not certified as a foster parent, and he is. You'd be in good hands with him."

"Finn said you're nice," Rey offers. Luke laughs and pulls some papers from his briefcase.

"I called Jakku and got your school records. I think you'd fit in well at D'Qar High. I'm principal, of course, so I'm biased." Luke winks at her, but it's jolly, not lecherous like Unkar. He peers at the files again. "Your I.Q. scores… are quite impressive."

"I've heard that," Rey acknowledges.

Luke frowns. "Were you ever in any sort of specialized program?"

Rey crosses her arms "Jakku doesn't have that."

"Well, D'Qar does." Han scowls, and his face takes on a strangely pained look. "You'd be wasting your potential if you stayed in Jakku."

"Excuse me," interrupts a bailiff. "The Honorable Maz Kanata will see you now."

* * *

"Your uncle wants to see you in his office, Ben," announces Mr. Ematt as he hangs up the phone.

" _Ooh,"_ choruses Hux.

Poe Dameron, a bruise over his eye, glances over his shoulder and glowers at Hux. Ben's stomach drops. Mitaka told him what they'd done to Poe the night before, and Ben hopes Poe knows he wasn't involved with that. Slashing the tires was funny, and Ben's idea, which he'd texted to Phasma half as a joke, half as an attempt to get Hux to stop implying Ben's just all talk. Threatening Poe and Finn—his foster cousin, in a sense—with a knife was _not_ funny, as dopey as the two of them are.

Ben hoists his bag onto his back and slinks in to the hallway, where he checks his phone to see if he has anything from Snoke. Nothing. Ben's disappointed.

There's another missed call from his father. That makes three within the past day, including one at 6:03am. Why would Dad even assume he'd be awake at that godforsaken hour?

Ben saunters down the hallway until he reaches the main office.

"Ah, Ben, good," Uncle Luke greets him.

"Yes, Mr. Skywalker?" Ben keeps his face blank. Did Finn know he'd texted that to Phasma yesterday? Had he ratted Ben out? If so, surely his uncle would have called Phasma and Mitaka to the office first. His mind speeds ahead, planning lines and retorts for comment and questions that will likely never come.

"We have a new student starting here this afternoon. Her name's Rey."

"Okay…" Ben shifts, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. _What does this have to do with me?_

"She's from Jakku."

 _That junkyard?_ Ben's lips curl.

"She's going to be staying with me and Finn."

"Oh." Ben shifts again, heart tugged with sympathy he doesn't want to acknowledge. He stayed with Luke once too, the first time Han left when he was fourteen, for a month until Luke told him to stop spending time with Snoke and Ben erupted and left. Ever since then, Ben avoids his uncle, who only speaks to him to lecture him on his attitude and his "bad influence" friends.

"She's like you, Ben," Luke says, and Ben glares at his uncle. "She's _gifted_."

 _Like us, then,_ Ben thinks as he tries to conceal his surprise. "She is?"

Luke nods. "Which is why I'm having you show her around."

"I'm not really into that," Ben snaps.

"I don't care what you're into, Ben." Luke glances over his nephew's shoulder, out the window. "You two will be taking quite a few lessons together. All of your classes are the same, actually."

Ben scowls, but secretly, he's kind of intrigued.

"It appears she's here now."

Ben doesn't want to appear curious, but he looks behind him to see his father's patrol car stopping. Dad and Chewie both get out and give the girl a hug, and a burning hatred, intense like nothing Ben's ever felt before, surges through him, tempered only by the poignant sting of jealousy.

The girl waves at them and heads into the building. It's only when she enters the office that Ben gets a glimpse of this imposer's face.

She's thin and pretty, with her umber hair pulled back from her face and hazel eyes that shine with a childish innocence. Freckles bloom over her face as she flushes at the sight of Luke and grins at Ben.

"Hi. I'm Rey."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! I know Rey is *slightly* farther along in her character development than she is in the movie here.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

"Rey, this is Ben Solo," Luke puts in, his hand reaching up to grab the tall boy's shoulder. The boy shrugs him off. Luke sighs in exasperation. "He'll be showing you around this afternoon."

She nods.

Ben pushes past her and leaves. "You coming?" he calls back at her.

"Yeah." She hurries after him.

He doesn't speak, but she catches him eyeing her. "What's your locker number?"

"2186."

"Over here." Ben directs her down a hallway. His dark hair grazes the top of his black turtleneck. She checks his nails and is surprised not to see black nail polish. This kid is as emo as anyone she's ever met. "Your locker's right next to the other kid who's staying with Luke."

"Finn?"

"What happened to your lip?" he asks as she opens the locker. She doesn't have much to put in—just a few notebooks Han and Chewie bought her.

Rey's had to tell the story more times today than she wanted to. "None of your business."

He drags his hand through his hair as if to say that he doesn't really care anyways.

"If your last name is Solo," she asks as she closes the locker. "Are you related to Han?"

Now Ben scowls, crossing his arms as if her question is a personal affront. "He's my father."

"Oh." Rey wants to chime in about how cool she thinks it would be to have Han as a father, but judging from the fury sparking in Ben's eyes, she decides not to risk it.

"We have advanced chemistry now," Ben tells her. "I'm guessing you tested out of your language requirement?"

She nods.

"Then you'll have a study hall after. And then we go home. Lucky you, only two classes today."

"I like school," she chirps, deliberately perky as she falls into step beside him. Which isn't easy. Rey's tall for a girl, but Ben dwarfs her.

"I never suggested you didn't."

"You're rude," she informs him as they reach the classroom.

His jaw drops as if he can't believe she actually called him on his bull. But Rey's spent too much time swallowing it from Unkar, and now she doesn't have to anymore. She smirks at him as she reaches and twists the doorknob.

Almost instantly, Rey spots Poe sitting next to a girl with long, shiny hair. There's a spare seat next to them that she marches over to, leaving Ben Solo standing by himself.

"I can't believe you're here!" Poe hisses, grinning. "Rey, this is Jessika Pava. Jess, Rey."

"I'm living with Luke," Rey whispers as the teacher resumes class. She pulls out her brand-new green gel pen to take notes. She's wanted one since she was eight, and Unkar never bought them for her. Han did, though. And Rey loves green, and blue, and Han _also_ bought her a blue one.

"Cool," mouths Poe, before Rey tunes everything out to concentrate on the lesson. Getting to attend D'Qar High in her junior year feels like a gift, a second chance, and she's determined not to waste it.

"Where are the thugs who beat you up yesterday?" Rey asks Poe after the bell rings.

Poe jerks his head towards a redheaded boy who looks something like a weasel to Rey. Of course, the boy would be seated next to Ben, who maintains his veneer of boredom even as he shuts a notebook Rey sees is well-scribbled in. "There's one of them. Hux. Mitaka and Phasma aren't in this class."

"Has Finn been okay?"

"Yeah, I saw him at lunch." Poe grins. "And we've got Spanish together, next. You?"

"Study hall."

"Easy day for you, then."

"Maybe." Rey glances at her notebook. "I think I've got a lot of catching up to do. Jakku's not exactly on the ball when it comes to its school systems."

"There's a lot of controversy about the school system here, too," Poe says. "Mr. Skywalker's been principal for the past four years, but the old principal, Mr. Snoke, is constantly at odds with him. Plus the mayor is Luke's sister, so there's a lot of tension there too. Like a lot of people think he's only principal because of that, but Luke's gifted and he's really nice."

"Is the mayor Han's wife?" _Ben's mother?_

Poe nods. "She's a good mayor. A _great_ mayor, and a great person. I want to be just like her someday," he adds, raising his voice as Ben walks past. Ben rolls his eyes.

"How's Beebee-Ate?" Rey asks as they walk towards the lockers. She doesn't want Poe to get beaten up again.

Poe brightens. "Here, I have several pictures." He rifles through his phone. "Dammit, you and Finn have got to get phones so I can text them to you."

"Don't do it," Jessika warns. "If you give him your number, he'll snapchat you pictures of the fuzzball about seven times a day."

"You love it and you know it." Poe finally finds the picture he's looking for, of Beebee-Ate curled up on a pillow, and proudly displays it before Rey.

"How cute," sneers a voice. Rey groans as she turns to Ben.

"Hello to the Emo Annoying King," Jessika says. "I don't have time to deal with your PMS today, Solo." She walks away, and Ben's already pale face floods red as others hear and laugh, including Hux.

"How's your car doing?" Ben retorts to Poe.

Something dangerous flashes across Poe's face. "Were you a part of that?"

Ben backs down, glancing at his black boots and clutching his right forearm. "I figured I would show you to our study hall," he mutters to Rey.

"Let's go." She doesn't need to stop by her locker—all she wants to study is in this notebook.

"I'll meet you back here after school!" Poe hollers after her.

"Well," Rey asks Ben as they head away from the crowd. " _Were_ you?"

He doesn't answer, and that's all Rey needs. She glares at him.

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt. A prank isn't hurting anyone," Ben finally says.

"Yeah, like Jessika's 'prank' of a remark didn't hurt you." Rey snorts as she ducks inside the classroom Ben motions towards. He gapes at her, but Rey can't fathom why he's surprised. "Really, your blushing was kind of obvious."

He grabs his arm again and follows her inside.

"Where are the others?" Rey asks their teacher, a man named Mr. Statura.

"It's just you two," Mr. Statura replies, looking relieved it's not just him and Ben.

Rey sighs and takes a seat, pouring over her notes. She rubs her forehead. Chemistry is far from her favorite subject. Computer science, English lit, psych, physics—anything but this.

"Need help?" Ben offers.

"Not from you."

"Okay then." He goes back to reading and analyzing a copy of _Hamlet_.

When the final bell rings, he calls after her. "Rey?"

"Yeah?" She turns around.

"Um—I see this tutor in town. Mr. Snoke. He's been helping me get ahead, live up to my full potential—if you're interested, I can ask him if you could—"

"No thanks," Rey says, and Ben's face crumples as if he's truly disappointed.

 _Weird_. But Rey doesn't want to be around someone who thinks slashing Poe's tires is _fun_.

* * *

Ben rushes past Rey, laughing with Finn and Poe, and slips into the bathroom stall, where he drops his bag and squeezes his eyes shut. He so does not want to run into Hux and Phasma right now. He has to calm down before he goes to visit Snoke.

Rejection stings. He was just trying to help her. But he sees it in her eyes—she despises him.

 _She doesn't even know me._

And his father—the man probably already prefers Rey to Ben. _Stop. Stop right now._

But the thoughts are already curling and racing through his mind, and they sting, even though he knows they shouldn't bother him— _it's not like it matters, you're being stupid, it's because you're weak and "too sensitive," like Snoke always says, stop thinking about it, grow the fuck up, Ben Solo._

 _Of course she turned down your offer to help her. You're a pathetic person._

Ben bites down on his cheek, but it won't be enough. He wants to spill blood, wants to legitimize his pain, give himself a reason to cry.

 _If you want a reason to cry, I can give you one!_ his father once yelled when Ben was hysterical over getting a B in math when he was eleven, and all other attempts to placate him had failed. Of course, it was an empty threat, but it hardly calmed Ben down.

Ben shoves up the sleeve covering his right arm, looking at the scars and scratches he's been wearing for two years now, the wounds no one's noticed. Not that he wants them to see.

He scratches his wrist against the sharp corner of the metal thing that holds the toilet paper until beads of blood appear. He gives himself a reason to cry, not that he actually does.

* * *

"He's a real piece of work," Finn agrees as he and Rey sprawl on Luke's living room floor, working on their homework. Or rather, Finn's working, and Rey's catching up on _Hamlet_. She keeps picturing the prince to look rather like Ben, and she doesn't know why and can't tell if she likes or dislikes that image.

"Yup." Artoo, Luke's cat, meanders in and plops down next to Rey. She strokes it, and Artoo smiles at her with blue eyes. "What'd Luke say to you when you got home last night?"

Finn sighs. "Han was right. He was pretty nice, actually. He did say he'd have to get me a phone this weekend, though, so it doesn't happen again." Finn bites down on his pen. "I guess I'm not used to people being so understanding."

"Me either."

"He even like called me on it, you know? On how I'm afraid. He told me not to worry, that he's not going to send me away. And he's only known me like two, three days." Finn shakes his head.

"Did you bounce around a lot of different homes?" Rey asks, leaning her head on her hand.

"Yeah. You?"

Rey shakes her head. "I was with Unkar Plutt from the time I was five."

 _Don't leave me! Come back!_

"Really?"

"Yeah. He was always willing to keep me—needed the labor, I guess, and the outlet—"

"If he was beating you, why didn't you ask to leave?" Finn demands, sitting up. "I was in one home like that, and as soon as I could, I called my social worker and was like, _get me outta here._ Mostly everyone else just ignored me."

"My mother left me with Unkar Plutt," Rey confesses, tracing the blue and green braided carpet. "I kept hoping she'd come back for me, and I wanted her to know where to find me."

Finn waits, as if sensing there's more to this story.

"She never came." Rey sighs. "This past summer, a judge told me that they weren't coming back, and I had to face it." The same judge who signed the order transferring custody from Unkar Plutt to Luke Skywalker today.

"I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. For you." Rey gets to her knees. "Do you think we have a chance?"

"At what?"

"Like if Luke wants to keep us… at being a family?"

Finn chuckles. "Yeah, I'd say we have a chance."

* * *

" _No_."

Ben shudders as Snoke rips his paper away from him and tears up the physics sets he's been working for the past hour.

"You're distracted today." Snoke leans back in his swivel chair, his long fingers grazing his chin.

"I saw my father," Ben blurts out.

"Oh?" Snoke leans forward, and Ben feels relieved. Maybe Snoke isn't mad at him.

"He was dropping off this girl—my uncle's taken in _another_ foster kid—she's a girl named Rey, and he—" He what? Gave Rey a hug? Chewie, Ben's godfather, gave Rey a hug? "It just unnerved me. And then Luke had me show the girl around because she's gifted too—"

"The girl is? The one from _foster care?"_ Snoke's pale, too thin eyebrows rise on his brow. They look like spider legs as they wriggle closer together.

"Yeah," Ben says. "We only had chemistry together today, but she's smart." And pretty. And she rejected his offer to help her, twice.

Snoke regards him with an unreadable expression, and Ben wants to slink under the table and hide. He feels as if his tutor can see into his mind, can see that for the first time since Ben can remember, a crush is definitely developing, and Snoke won't like that. _In high school, dating is a distraction_ , Snoke's reiterated tens of times, and Ben's always agreed.

 _It's not as if it'll matter. Why would she like you?_ Especially after the debacle with Poe. Not that Ben intended for Poe to get hurt.

"But she's living with Luke Skywalker."

Ben nods.

"She won't come near her potential, then," Snoke declares.

Ben's mind travels back to his efforts with Luke tutoring him. Despite his uncle's supposed gifted status as well, it wasn't working. When Mr. Snoke, Ben's grandfather's old friend, offered to help Ben realize his potential, Ben quickly agreed despite protests from his mother.

"Skywalker's barely able to keep a school functioning," Snoke continues. "How does he think he can manage two damaged teenagers?"

 _Damaged?_ Ben presses against his right forearm, feels the smarting pain.

"He couldn't even find that arsonist who burned down the theater center last summer," Snoke adds.

 _It's just fireworks, Hux. Don't panic._

Until it wasn't, and everything went up in flames, and despite the fact that his own father used to be a volunteer firefighter as well as a cop, Ben couldn't remember what to do. In the end, he was the one that panicked.

Ben squirms until he realizes Snoke is staring pointedly at him.

"Or maybe his sentiment won't allow him to pursue any suspicions," Snoke finishes.

Ben's mouth goes dry. "What do you mean?"

"I know what you did, Ben. You still had the unexploded fireworks in your trunk two weeks later. That's not terribly smart, you know."

Ben's face is so red he knows denying it would be fruitless. Besides, if Snoke was going to turn him in, he would've already. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"Because I don't want the school system's best student to go to jail," snaps Snoke. "I care about D'Qar High, Ben."

Ben pinches his arm again. "It was an accident."

"Maybe." Snoke gets to his feet. "Judging from the paper headline scheduled for tomorrow, I might not be worrying about Luke Skywalker for too much longer."

* * *

"Are you f—serious?" Poe gasps. Lor San Tekka raises his eyebrows at Poe's almost slip, but doesn't say anything.

"Apparently they plan to run it tomorrow," the older man confirms. Poe peers at the screen, his stomach flip-flopping as he reads the headlines.

VIOLENCE ESCALATING IN D'QAR: COULD MAYOR'S POLICIES BE TO BLAME?

The article bashes Leia Organa, pointing out that she's the daughter of a state senator, Padmé Amidala, and pokes at Mr. Skywalker as well, criticizing the "brother/sister duo" that "have a hold on this town," chiefly pointing to a supposed source from the police station that cites Mr. Skywalker's "reluctance to comply with the investigation into the arson-set fire than burned down one the D'Qar High School's oldest and most cherished buildings." It brings up the mayor's "pending divorce."

And the picture they've used? Poe's slashed tires.

 _God, imagine if they'd heard about the knife_ , Poe thinks. "This is a high school prank. It's not _violence_."

"Jabba Hutt isn't known for caring about facts," Lor says.

"Well, this is _offensive_ ," Poe declares. "Ms. Organa's personal life should be off limits. Next thing you know they'll be dragging Finn and Rey into this and be saying Mr. Skywalker's too distracted with all his foster kids or something."

"I'm fully expecting that on Friday." Lor shakes his head, and he's not joking.


	4. Chapter 4

Unfortunately, Lor San Tekka turns out to be right. When Poe picks Rey and Finn up for school on Friday in his fixed car and sees the horror on their faces, he knows.

"I'm sorry," Poe mutters.

"He's only had me one week," Finn says. "How can I be a _distraction_?"

"You're not. Jabba Hutt's disgusting, a real sleaze."

"Out of my way, distractions," taunts Phasma as she shoulders her way between both of them, sending Rey's new notebooks and pens scattering all over the floor. Poe opens his mouth, but before he can unleash the torrent of swears welling up in his mind, another voice interrupts.

"Cut it out, Phasma," snaps Ben.

 _Ew._

"I can handle myself," Rey snips.

"It's just a joke," Phasma huffs.

"He's too worried about his parents' 'impending divorce' to have any fun," sneers Mitaka.

" _Shut the fuck up!"_ Ben grabs Mitaka by the throat, thrusting him into the lockers with a clang.

"Whoa!" Finn exclaims.

"Stop it!" Rey shouts, leaping to her feet and grabbing Ben's arm.

"What is going on here?" squawks Mr. Ackbar as Ben releases a gasping Mitaka just before the teacher rounds the bend.

"Nothing," squeaks Mitaka.

Ackbar glares at Ben, who stares right back.

"Fine," Ackbar finally surrenders.

Poe kneels down and gathers the rest of Rey's things. "Let's go."

"I seriously cannot believe that kid is Leia's son," Finn pants as they round the corner. "He's _crazy."_

"Well, that other kid did say something pretty cruel to him," Rey points out, biting her lip.

"Worth strangling him for?"

"Cruelty is how those kids operate," Poe puts in, his fingers travelling up his forehead to the splotch of a bruise that remains. "They're not nice, Rey. They don't _want_ to be nice. I mean, they chased me with a freaking knife."

"Can we just tell Luke and have them expelled?" Finn moans.

"Unfortunately, I don't think it'd be that easy." Poe waves as Jess and Snap Wexley spot them and head over. "Everyone ready for calculus?"

"Only Rey," Finn groans.

Rey smirks.

* * *

Rey watches as Ben enters their study hall and drops his bag to the floor, slouching in his chair.

"You okay?"

He looks at her as if shocked she's speaking to him. He nods, and she turns back to her notebook, shaking her gel pen.

"How's chemistry?" he questions.

Rey leans back in her chair. "It sucks. But Luke's going to help me get caught up this weekend. And he said he'll get me and Finn phones, so we can fit in with the rest of the twenty-first century." She's not sure why she shared that last bit, but she's so excited she can't help it. She still goes to sleep at night pinching herself, certain that this is all a dream, her Cinderella fantasies clambering up to haunt her.

Ben smiles. He _actually_ smiles. _So it's possible for him to smile._

"Cookie?" She offers him one of the packs she swiped at lunch.

Ben shakes his head. "Those things barely pass as cookies in my book."

"Well, I think they're pretty good." Especially considering that Unkar never splurged on sweets for her. Luke let her have a second bowl of cookies and cream ice cream last night, and Rey felt like she'd died and gone to heaven.

"Luke's not the best tutor, you know. He's not that good at it."

The cookie turns to dust in her mouth. Rey swallows. "I'll give him a shot."

"Do you want to wait for the weekend, or do you want me to help you with that?" Ben points at her notebook.

"I don't care if you talk, just keep it down," mumbles Statura as he scribbles on a paper with a red pen.

"Fine." She picks up her notebook and moves closer to him. "Translate this into English."

He traces the notebook's edge. "Did my father buy you this?"

There's something in his tone that surprises Rey. "You're _jealous?"_

"What?" He gapes at her, too shocked to even deny it.

"I haven't heard from him since he dropped me off here," she informs him.

"Yeah, well, that's typical," Ben grouses, glaring down at her notes. His eyes aren't moving, though.

 _If Poe works for his mom…_ "That's why you hate Poe so much too, isn't it? You're jealous of him, too."

"My parents mean nothing to me," he states, and a cold rock drops into Rey's stomach.

"That's a terrible thing to say. I'd give anything to hear from mine."

 _Don't leave me! Come back!_

 _Quiet, girl!_

She's done being quiet.

"Our grandfathers were good friends," Ben blurts out. "Well, at first. They had a falling out. But your grandfather was also… like us. And he tutored Luke. You could ask him about it."

"Chemistry," Rey croaks out, pointing at the pages.

"Right." He delves back into her notes, adding his own corrections and explaining things to her, giving her problem sets to work on and helping her when she makes a mistake, which is often. "God, the schools in Jakku must've sucked."

Rey flinches. "I'm not stupid."

"Of course you're not. I was just—"

"It's fine." Rey closes her eyes and drops her head to the desk. It's cold and smooth.

"I could talk to Snoke," he suggests again. "We could be study partners."

"Luke doesn't trust this Snoke character," Rey mumbles.

"Have you registered for your SATs yet?" Ben quizzes her.

She lifts her head, blinking. "Yeah. I saved enough money back in Jakku to register."

"You know my uncle would probably reimburse you—"

Rey shrugs. She doesn't want to put Luke out any more. "Do you know what you want to study? In college?"

He tugs at his hair. "Astrophysics. You?"

Rey smirks as she thinks of Unkar laboring in his shop all alone. "Mechanical engineering."

The bell rings, and Rey drags herself up. "What are you doing this weekend?"

"Studying." He hands her notebook back to her and shoves his black pens into his black bags.

"For fun, though?" she persists, grabbing her multicolored bag.

He scowls. "I'm studying. That is my fun. I need to succeed, Rey. I want to. Don't you—I mean—you've got all this potential. Aren't you afraid of wasting it?"

"No, I think I'm more afraid of wasting my life and not mattering to _people_. Like Luke and Finn and Poe and my parents, if I had any who cared." Rey leaves the room ahead of him.

"Rey?"

"Yeah?" She turns around in the hallway.

He grabs her hand.

"What are you—"

"I don't want to tear any pages from my notebook, but here." He scribbles several digits in black ink on her palm. "That's my number. When you get a phone and Luke starts to fail you when it comes to chemistry, you can text me."

 _Okay_ , Rey thinks as he walks away. _Okay_.

* * *

 _Got a phone,_ Finn texts Poe on Saturday. Then he adds: _It's Finn._

A picture of Beebee-Ate appears. _Download Snapchat for more of this cute face_.

Finn grabs Artoo and tries to get the cat to pose for a picture. In the end, he looks fairly deranged with Artoo climbing up his head.

 _Haha. My new contact photo of you,_ Poe teases.

"Someone's calling me!" Rey yelps as her phone goes off.

"Well, answer it." Luke grins. "I suspect I know who it is, too. Put it on speaker."

"Hello?"

"Han!" Rey gasps.

"Hey, kid. Luke told me you and Finn got phones."

"They're really cool!" Finn calls.

"How's the rest of your school week been?"

"Good!"

"It's been fine," Rey says. "I met Ben. Your son. We have all of our classes together, and a study hall."

Han humphs. "Has he been mean to you?"

Finn opens his mouth to answer, but Rey beats him to it. "No, he's pretty helpful with chemistry."

Finn rolls his eyes, but Han's question doesn't sit right with him. Not _has he been nice to you?_ but _has he been mean to you?_ What could have happened for a father to have such low expectations of his own son?

Ben happened, Finn figures. The kid is anything but pleasant to be around.

Chewie takes over and chats for a few minutes before Han says they have to go. When they hang up, Rey turns to Luke. "Luke? Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course. I do promote learning in all atmospheres." Luke chuckles as Finn ruffles Artoo's fur.

"Ben told me that your father and my grandfather had a falling out."

"Oh." Luke nods. "Yes, they did. They were both in the town government, but in a different town called Naboo. They disagreed on certain policies, and when my mother died, my father couldn't handle it. He gave my sister and myself up for adoption, and Obi-wan never really forgave him."

Finn's jaw drops. "You were—"

"I had an aunt and an uncle who took me in," Luke says, smiling as if he knows what Finn was about to ask. "Leia was adopted by the Organas. Obi-wan came and tutored me—he called himself Ben Kenobi then. Through him, I wound up meeting Leia, although we didn't know we were siblings at first." Luke frowns and interlaces his fingers.

"Wait, what?" Finn interrupts. "Does that mean Ben's named for—"

Luke laughs. "Yes, indeed. When we were nineteen, our father was dying and he wanted to reconcile with us. I went. Leia didn't make it in time, but I forgave him. He died happy."

Finn wonders what he would do if, someday, maybe three years from now, his father or his mother reached out to him, told him they wanted to reconcile with him before he died. Would he go?

 _Of course._

But Finn's not sure he means it.

Still, the way Luke looks at him, at Rey—it's like he _knows_ , like he understands wondering where he came from, why he wasn't enough for the people that were supposed to want him and love him.

 _Do you think it's too late?_ Rey had asked.

 _No_ , Finn does not think it's too late. He may have had his hopes crushed for sixteen years, but now his hopes are flaring again.

* * *

"I'm telling you, I have no idea. If anything I'm betting Jabba made it up—a source from the police department! That's ridiculous."

Ben freezes on the stairs, sleep still holding on to his eyes and brain. _That voice._

 _Dad._

"Oh good, Ben! Your father's here, you can see him," gushes Threepio as he waddles past Ben, who hates him.

But now surely his parents have heard, and besides, he really needs coffee. Ben drags himself into the kitchen.

"Ben!" Chewie rushes over to embrace him, but Ben's stiff.

"I need caffeine," Ben mutters.

"It's one in the afternoon, Ben. You just woke up?" Dad's trying to joke and failing spectacularly. Ben ignores him.

"Greet your father," Mom orders.

"Hello, Father." Ben turns around with a mug clasped in his hands. Both of his parents roll their eyes in identical expressions of disgust.

"What do you have planned for the day?" Dad asks. "I have some time—Chewie and I were thinking about—"

"Sounds great. Enjoy your day together." Ben presses the Keurig on. Mom quietly slips out of the room.

Dad sighs. "Ben, I know things can't be easy for you. But I'm your father, and I miss you."

 _No, you don't. It's a lie_. Ben guffaws. "Are you trying to tell me you want to start acting like a father?"

 _What does a father even do?_

Dad's face blanches. "Ben, I know my job keeps me busy, but nothing is as important to me as you, and your mother—"

"Bullshit."

"Watch your language," Chewie reprimands him.

"You're _not_ my father," Ben shoots back.

"What do you have planned for the day?" Dad asks, trying to quell the rising tension, but the sparks have already burst into flames inside of Ben. Still, he tries to answer.

"Going to study with Snoke."

"Can you take a few hours this afternoon? I'd like to spend some time with you."

"Keep dreaming." The Keurig slurps and Ben takes his coffee.

"What do you _want_ from me, Ben?" Han calls out behind him as Ben stomps towards the stairs.

"Nothing!" he yells, even though his heart aches because he wants _everything_. He wants his father's arms around him. He wants to feel unconditionally loved. He wants to have all these things, and have his father be proud of his accomplishments.

Ben's phone buzzes, and he flips it over to see a message from a number he doesn't recognize.

 _I have a phone!_ Seven different, apparently random emojis, and a grinning selfie of Rey accompany it. Ben's heart leaps, and he texts her back with a smiley face emoji, something he never does.

She doesn't respond, and Ben scowls and finishes his coffee. The acid burns his stomach as he gets dressed and applies eyeliner. He grabs his books and heads for the door.

"I'm telling you, Leia," he hears his father's voice. "I don't like that Snoke."

"I don't either, Han, but you're not around as much, and Ben needs someone to—"

"Well, I'm his father whether he wants me to be or not, and I have a say in parenting him, and I _don't like that Snoke."_

Ben doesn't want to hear any more. He runs outside and throws his bag onto the driveway, kicking the ice coating the driveway until it cracks.


	5. Chapter 5

**Warning for homophobia in this chapter.**

* * *

Weeks pass, and Finn is slowly starting to feel more and more at home here in D'Qar. Luke is still cheerful and ready to offer advice, to listen to Finn complain about his homework with a wry smile, and hasn't threatened to get rid of Finn once. He even signed Finn up for SATs and is encouraging him to think beyond just a community college.

Rey, for her part, seems to be thriving, even though she seems not to mind hanging around that Ben during their study halls. Otherwise, though, she and Finn eat lunch with Poe, who also drives them to and from school, the latter on his way to his part-time internship.

"Ready for a driving lesson?" Poe asks Finn one day at lunch. "After school? I don't have my internship today."

"Oh God," complains Jess. "I'll know to stay off the roads tonight."

"Finn says yes, but only if I can be a backseat driver," chimes in Rey.

Finn playfully shoves her, and she makes a face at him and laughs.

"How hard can it be?" Finn asks as they step outside.

"Not hard," Rey assures him.

"Not comforting coming from a genius," Finn retorts, and then has to duck when Rey throws a snowball at him.

"Okay, so these aren't ideal conditions," Poe admits when Finn's sitting in the driver's seat in the school parking lot. "But just ease into it—yeah like th—no! Brakes!"

The car screeches to a stop inches from a familiar black car.

"Watch it!" hollers Ben, running towards them and inspecting his car, even though Finn didn't actually hit it.

"Leaving late today?" Poe calls out the window. Ben flips them off, but stops when he sees Rey.

"What are the three of you doing in there anyways?" Hux sneers as he marches behind Ben.

"Having a threesome, clearly," Phasma jokes. She and Hux laugh. Ben blanches.

"Grow up," Rey snaps.

Finn gulps.

"Finn," Poe says as Ben hops into his car and peels out of the lot. "You're going to be fine. They're just assholes. Ignore them. Everyone almost crashes into something when they first learn to drive. For God's sake, I _literally_ crashed into a tree on like my fifth lesson. My dad was not thrilled."

"Really?" Finn glances at him, and Poe shrugs, a red hue creeping up his cheeks.

"Yeah." Poe reaches out and moves Finn's hand back towards the gear. "Put it back in drive, buddy."

"Are you sure?" Finn asks.

"Stop flirting," Rey drawls. "Start driving."

This time Finn flips her off.

* * *

"You seem _awfully_ happy," Lor San Tekka observes the next night, when Poe's whistling while he works.

"I _am_ happy," Poe declares as he presses _print_ on a document he's been preparing.

"Could a girl have anything to do with that?" the man inquires, arching forward on his desk.

The snowstorm outside crystallizes in Poe's chest. He tries to keep the smile on his face. "Uh—no."

"Because I have seen you hanging around that Rey a lot—"

"And Finn," Poe says quickly, waiting for the printer to finish its digestion and spit out his paper. "If anything, Finn likes her. Nah, I'm not into—anyone."

It's a lie, and it coats Poe's throat with slime. But what is he supposed to say? He hasn't even told his parents yet, although he's known since he was twelve that he likes guys, not girls. Besides, he _does_ think Finn likes Rey, although given that they share a foster father, he still hopes. Finn's kind and brave and so fun to be around.

"Excuse me," comes a cold voice. "Where's my mother?"

Poe looks up to see Ben, hair soaked with melting snow and wearing the biggest scowl he's even seen. "In her office, I'd guess."

"She's not there." Ben crosses his arms.

"Excuse me," Lor San Tekka interrupts. "Ben, I think your mother went to have dinner with your father."

Ben's eyebrows rise and his lips curl in a sneer. "Fine then."

The door clanks open. "Poe!"

Poe gapes at the snow-covered man in the doorway. "Dad?"

"I don't want you driving home tonight. The storm's getting bad." Kes Dameron nods at Lor, at Ben as Poe gives his father a hug.

When they break apart, Poe notices Ben watching him with his Adam's apple bobbing.

"You waiting for your mother?" Kes asks Ben. "If you need a ride—"

"I'll be fine," Ben snarls. He spins on his heel and stalks out, the door slamming behind him.

"Can Ms. Organa just knock the chip off his shoulder already?" Poe requests.

Lor sighs.

* * *

A snow day. Ben punches his pillow, because this means there's no chance Mom will let him go to his lessons with Snoke. The one bright spot in his day is the picture Rey sends him of a snowman/cat she describes as _Artoo._ Of course, Finn is also in the photograph, arm around Rey. Ben deletes it and immediately regrets it.

Does Finn like Rey? Ben wonders. He's fairly certain that Poe doesn't, because it seems obvious to Ben, based on all the lip-bites, the way Poe's eyes glitter in Finn's presence, that Poe is gay. Not that Ben cares. Poe has everything he's ever wanted.

Dad tries to call Ben three times, and Ben finally texts him a single word: _stop_.

The next day back at school, when Mr. Ematt orders them to break up into partners to run a chemistry experiment, Hux and Phasma choose each other immediately. Without any friends left in the class—not that Ben considers either of those two close friends—he turns to Rey.

"Okay," she agrees. "Sorry, Poe."

"He's fine," says Jessika Pava, draping her arm over Poe's shoulder.

"Too bad Finn's not in this class," Ben says to Rey as they work over an open flame. "He and Poe have a lot of chemistry."

She doesn't seem to catch his pun. Ben sighs, but he hears Hux sniggering behind him. _Shut up_ , Ben thinks.

Ben and Rey finish their project first, to no one's surprise, but it's after the class spills out into the hallway when Ben realizes he's made a stupid mistake.

"Oh look," Hux scoffs to Phasma as he watches Poe slap Finn on the back. "The boyfriends are reunited."

"What did you just say?" Phasma demands.

"I'm just saying, clearly, he's gay." Hux waves his hand at Poe, his voice booming through the bustling hallway. Everything goes still, and Poe's jaw drops.

Rey rolls her eyes. "What are you, a homophobe?"

"We're just friends," Finn says quickly, and Ben wants to scream.

"Not that it would matter," Rey shoots back at Hux.

"Exactly," Jessika agrees. "Get with the times, Hux."

"Leave me alone," Poe says, his voice wavering as his eyes dart to Finn.

A devilish smile curls Hux's lips, like he's a shark smelling blood from a wounded victim. "So, Finn, how does it feel to have a—" Hux uses a terrible word. "—in love with you?"

Rey bitch-slaps Hux across the face. Phasma lunges for Rey, but Ben sticks out his leg to trip her.

"You horrible—" Rey tries to find a word and evidently can't. "How could you say that?" She turns to Ben, her eyes shining. "How can you just stand there?"

Phasma groans as she picks herself off the ground.

"I'm done," Poe says as he turns and storms off. Finn watches him go and then glares at Hux, at Phasma, at Ben.

"He's the one who said it first," Hux says, pointing to Ben. "That Finn and Poe have lots of _chemistry_."

Rey raises her fist again, but Mr. Ematt races out of his room. "There better not be any fighting going on!"

Hux lowers his face so that the teacher can't see the red mark.

The bell rings. "Get to class!" Mr. Ematt roars.

"Rey—" Ben tries, but she casts him a look of disgust.

* * *

Poe's never played hooky before, but there is no way he's going to his next class. He doesn't care so much about his peers, but he cares about Finn, and he's terrified to face him. Not because he's embarrassed about who he is, but because at heart he didn't ever want Finn to know he liked him, because it's an impossible crush.

Poe folds his arms over his knees, damp snow seeping through his jeans. His teeth chatter.

Whenever he imagined coming out, it never went like this—he _came_ out, someone didn't _push_ him out. _It's not fair_.

 _Life's not fair_. His dad's told him that multiple times.

Poe presses the back of his hand against his mouth and stifles a sob. He wants to call his parents, wants to beg them to come get him.

His phone buzzes, and, cringing, Poe digs it out of his pocket. It's from Rey.

 _Where are you?_

 _Behind the bleachers in a snow bank_ , he texts back. _Hopefully freezing to death._

 _I'm coming. Screw class._

Poe closes his eyes, leaning his head back against the crusted snow and gravel. He contemplates texting her that he's fine, but he's really not.

But it's not Rey Poe sees tromping towards him.

"Hey buddy," Finn says, sitting down in the frigid snow beside him.

"Why are you here?" Poe asks, shutting his eyes again and digging his head back. "I'm a—" he uses the word Hux used. "—who's in love with you, remember?"

"Don't call yourself that," Finn reprimands him. Poe's eyes fly open. "I spent years being called all sorts of things I didn't deserve from people who hardly knew me. Words can hurt, man. I know."

Poe winces as he straightens up, leaning on his elbow. He picks a pebble out of the gray snow and rubs away the grime. "I'm not embarrassed about who I am. I just—it's not—that's not how I thought I'd come out."

Finn nods. "I don't care that you're gay, you know. Well, I mean I _care_ , because I care about you. But anyone who cares in a negative way isn't worth your time."

Poe snorts. "So it doesn't matter to you?"

"No, it _does_. Because you're my friend, and everything about my friends matters to me. Now that I have friends." Finn rolls his eyes. "It matters in a good way, not in a way that bothers me."

 _This is only making me more in love with you!_ Poe wants to scream, but his ears beg to hear it nonetheless.

Finn holds his arms out. "Hug?"

"Hug." Poe wraps his arms around him, heart pounding as he pulls away. "Finn, you're drenched!"

"So are you."

"No, I'm not. My jacket's waterproof. Here." Poe shrugs out of it and hands it over.

Finn's lips are almost blue as he accepts it.

* * *

By the time she gets to study hall, Rey's anger has simmered down, particularly regarding Ben. She still wants to sling her book bag into Hux's face. Still, Ben won't look at her in the rest of their classes, and he's late to study hall.

"It's a good thing I'm in a good mood today," grouses Mr. Statura. "Or you'd have a tardy, and I don't care who your mom is _or_ who your uncle is, Mr. Solo."

Ben drops into his seat in the row behind her, pressing against his right arm again. Rey's staring at her chemistry notes. They have a test next week.

 _Oh, what the hell._ She turns around to face Ben. "I'm sorry I blamed you. It was an innocent comment."

His jaw hovers as if he's shocked. "Not that innocent," he mumbles. "But I didn't mean for Hux to…"

"I know."

Ben shifts his arms up to press his clasped hands against his forehead. "Is Poe okay?"

"Yeah." Rey smiles at him.

"Would it help if I said I was sorry to him?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Maybe." The sleeve of Ben's black shirt slides back and something red, _too_ red, crimson really, catches Rey's eye. She leans across his desk and grabs his arm before he can say anything. "You're hurt."

"No—" He winces and tries to tug his arm away, but Rey holds on.

She's seen it too many times in Jakku. She's considered doing it herself, but Unkar provided enough pain. "Did you do that to yourself?"

"You can't tell anyone." It comes out a plea.

One that Rey doesn't intend to listen to. "Yes, I can."

"Rey, please." He looks at her look a little boy lost, his voice a frantic whisper. " _Please don't._ My mother has enough to deal with."

She raises her eyebrows. "Apparently, _you_ have _too_ _much_ to deal with."

Ben's forehead is inches from her own. "I just felt badly about what happened with Poe."

She keeps her voice low. "I thought you hated Poe."

"Not exactly." Ben blows out his breath. "It's just—it's more like—I'm jealous of him. You're right, Rey."

"Have you thought about seeing a therapist?" Rey persists, her mind still on the blood she can still see staining the cuffs of his shirt.

"I don't have time. I have to do _well_ , Rey. Surely you of all people understand the pressure to be _somebody_."

She shrugs. "Actually, I always thought I was a nobody. No one."

 _You're no one._

"How could you think that?' Aghast, Ben stares at her. "Even knowing your—"

"Yeah, I knew I was smart, but in Jakku no one cared. The people who did care only cared about my ability, not about _me_." Rey's voice trembles as she remembers her teachers, constantly asking her to study, do well for the sake of Jakku High, all the while ignoring the welt on her cheek.

"That sounds lonely," Ben observes.

She nods and wipes at a runaway tear. "It was. And I always—I always wanted—I would have preferred to mean something to someone as a person, you know? My foster father was horrible. My parents abandoned me, probably for drugs."

"You mean something to Luke now," Ben encourages her. "To Finn. To Poe. To me."

Rey meets his eyes and is surprised by the sincerity she sees swimming in them. "Don't hurt yourself," she requests.

"I'll try." He leans back.

"Can you help me with chemistry now?" Rey asks, her voice meek.

He smirks. "Let's give it a shot."

* * *

"What do you want?" Finn greets Ben as he follows Rey over to their lockers.

"I wanted to say I'm sorry." Ben looks straight at Poe. Is his eyeliner smudged? "I never meant for Hux to hear me. Or to say something like that."

Poe shrugs and nods. "Well, be more careful with your words next time."

"Did your dad let you drive today?" Ben asks.

Poe scowls. "No."

"Shara Bey drove us all in today," Rey puts in.

"I can give you a ride home. If you want. Before my tutoring session."

Finn's jaw drops. "Are you being _nice_ to us?"

"Take advantage of it while you can," Ben warns, and Finn grins.

He's still wearing Poe's jacket, and he's not sorry. Poe told him to keep it, and Finn realized then that Poe really does have a crush on him. Finn never considered what he'd feel if another boy had a crush on him, but he didn't expect to feel so flattered. Even if he doesn't return the feelings.

 _Do you?_

Finn's only ever had mild crushes on girls before. But when he looks at Poe and sees him smiling, he wonders.

"Let's just let Luke know," Finn says to Rey. She nods and they scurry towards the office.

" _Ben's_ giving you a ride home?" Luke's eyebrows rise, but he looks somewhat amused. "Okay then. Enjoy."

"Um, Luke?" Finn hedges. "Before you get the attendance records today… I missed fourth period. Most of fourth period."

Luke crosses his arms and steps back. "And why is that?"

"Poe needed a friend."

Luke's eyes sweep him up and down. "Nice jacket."

"Does your car have a name?" Rey asks as they follow Ben out to the parking lot. "Your father told me his cruiser's name the _Falcon_."

"What, do you think that naming cars is genetic or something?" Ben scoffs.

There he is. The snarky, familiar Ben. Until he smirks at Rey. "It's named the _Finalizer_."

"I am judging you harshly," Finn declares.

"Finn, he's driving us home. That's not very nice."

"Still judging."


	6. Chapter 6

"So," Poe says as he and Rey leave the chemistry classroom a week later. "How do you think it went?"

"I think I passed," Rey says cautiously. She glances behind them, to where Ben gives her a thumbs-up.

Rey holds her thumb sideways. Poe aims his straight at the floor.

Jessika shakes her head. "I still don't get why you're talking to him."

"Driving lesson today?" Finn asks as he squeezes between Snap and another boy. "It's your day off, right?"

"Yeah," Poe agrees.

"Luke took me to get my permit over the weekend. So we can leave the parking lot," Finn adds.

Of course, they're barely on the road when a siren wails behind them.

"Shit!" Finn looks panicked.

Poe checks the speedometer. "You're not speeding." _Is something wrong with my car_?

"So," drawls a familiar voice as the cop meanders up to the window. "You're driving, are you, kid?"

"Han." Finn relaxes, and Poe grins.

"You almost gave him a heart attack," Poe teases.

Han grows serious. "Actually, you're the reason I pulled you over."

"Me?" Panic eats at Poe's fingertips. "My registration is all up to date—"

"It's nothing to do with your car, kid. You need to get home. Right now."

Rey's hand grips the back of Poe's neck as all three of them gape at Han.

"Can you give Finn and me a ride?" Rey asks, opening the car door.

Poe says goodbye and speeds off. He knows he's breaking the speed limit and doesn't care. Han won't pull him over. His parents have to be okay—it's too early for Mom to be home yet, and Han surely would have said if Dad wasn't okay.

Poe pulls into his driveway to see his front window shattered, glass spilled like fanciful beads onto the walkway and glinting menacingly like teeth against the pane.

"What happened?" Poe yells as he jumps out of his car only to remember he hasn't turned off the ignition. "Shit." He pulls out the keys and darts towards his father.

"Some kids threw a brick through the window," Dad greets him, wrapping an arm around him.

"A brick?"

"That's right," confirms a dark-skinned cop Poe recognizes as Lando Calrissian. "That brick."

Poe peers around Lando's shoulder to see a jagged brick with the word Hux had taunted him with scrawled on it. He claps his hand to his mouth.

"Any idea who might have done this?" Dad asks, his arm still around Poe.

"Hux. And Phasma. From school. He… he called me that. Last week." Poe looks at Officer Calrissian, swallowing hard. "He found out I'm gay and started calling me that. Rey and Ben made him stop."

His father's hand clenches against Poe's shoulder. _Sorry, Dad._ He hates this. He hates that these bullies are stealing his choices from him.

"I see." Officer Calrissian shakes his head. "Ben… Solo?"

"Yeah. He's been nice. Lately," Poe clarifies.

"I'll pay a visit to their households." Officer Calrissian glances to Poe's father. "Is there anything we can do to help—"

"It's okay, I've got enough cardboard to cover this until we can get it fixed." Dad shakes his head.

When Officer Calrissian drives off, Dad steers Poe into the house and out of the cold. _Who talks first?_ Poe wonders. _You talk first? I talk first?_

Finally releasing his shoulder, Dad faces Poe. "Why didn't you tell me those kids were bullying you?"

"It's just a word," Poe mumbles. "Until now, of course." He still can't believe it. Why does Hux hate him so much? Phasma? What has he ever _done_ to them?

"Hey." Dad's fingers cup Poe under the chin, lifting his face. "Don't be foolish. It's not just a word. It's not _okay_." And he's hugging Poe, and Poe wraps his arms around his father's neck, tears stinging his eyes because the _word_ , because the brick thrown through his family's window, _does_ hurt.

* * *

The house phone starts its shrill cry when it's still dark.

Rey leaps out of bed in her pajamas, convinced that it's the fire alarm before it ceases and she realizes it's just the phone. And then she catches sight of the clock and freezes. _3:58?_

Who would call at this hour?

She hears Luke's voice below her, sounding agitated, along with footsteps, as if he's pacing. Rey eases herself out of the door, her bare feet freezing against the hardwood.

"Rey?" Finn whispers, stepping out of his room in a t-shirt and sweatpants. "What's going on?"

"I'll be right there," Luke's voice says, and then they hear him sigh. "Rey? Finn? I know you're up."

Rey slips away from the hallway and onto the staircase, twisting her hair. "What's going on?"

"There's a fire at the school." Luke shakes his head. " _Again_. This time it's the gymnasium."

"Are you kidding?" Finn squeaks.

"No. That was Han. I have to get down there." Luke points at them. "You may not have school in the morning. I'll call you either way, okay?"

"Yeah," Rey breathes, glancing at Finn in alarm. First a brick through Poe's window, now a fire at the school. _What the hell is going on in this town?_

Finn texts Poe, although neither expects a response from him. Too keyed up to go back to sleep, Rey snatches Artoo and snuggles with the kitty.

She could text Ben.

And she does, and instantly receives a reply.

 _I know. Luke called my mom._

 _Luke says it's not the first fire?_

 _Last summer the theater building burning down,_ he responds. _I doubt very much it's related to this._

Rey scoffs. _How could they not be related?_

 _It doesn't make any sense for them to be_.

It doesn't make any sense for the fires _not_ to be related to Rey, but she decides to stop pressing the point and instead sends Ben a selfie with Artoo squashed against her face.

Luke calls just as she starts to doze off again, slumped against the couch with a crook forming in her neck. _Ouch_. She rubs it as Finn answers.

"School's on," Finn informs her as her phone lights up with six different texts, all from Poe.

 _What?_

 _Another one?_

 _Which building?_

 _That's crazy._

 _I bet Luke's pissed._

 _Why would some sicko want to burn down parts of a school?_

Rey groans. "I want to go back to sleep."

Her phone buzzes again with a picture of an either overly happy or overly terrified Beebee-Ate. _Happy morning!_

 _Go to hell,_ Rey texts Poe as she staggers to her feet and heads for the shower.

At the school, all the students whisper together as the teachers march about with grim faces and lips set in thin lines. The gymnasium is blocked with yellow tape.

"Han!" Rey calls when she spots Ben's father.

He waves at her.

"Rey!" Ben jogs up to her, stopping when he sees his father. "Oh."

Chewie steps over and punches Ben in the shoulder. Ben smiles at him. "Hi, Chewie."

Chewie nods as if impressed with Ben's politeness.

"Are you and Han investigating this?" Rey asks, waving her hand.

"Yep."

"Do you think the fire is related to the one last summer?" Rey persists, eyeing Ben and smirking to prove her point. His face drains, and she doesn't understand why.

"Yes," Chewie answers, and as his mother arrives on the scene, Ben slinks off.

The day passes like a blur. Teachers don't even try to stop the students from whispering in class. Poe gives Hux as filthy of a look as he can muster. Hux doesn't even return his gaze.

"Coward," Finn mutters.

"I've got your tests to hand back," Mr. Ematt announces as they file into chemistry. "At the end of class, so you don't get distracted."

"That's about the most distracting thing possible," Poe mutters. "'Cause now I'm just gonna worry about it all class."

Rey nods. She thinks she did well, but how well?

When Mr. Ematt finally passes them out, Rey waits to look at hers until she's outside of the classroom. Her jaw drops.

" _98?"_ Poe shrieks over her shoulder. "Are you frickin' kidding me? I got a 74! No one does that well on Ematt's exams!"

"It's not that high," Rey says, before she realizes how ridiculous she sounds. "I bet Ben got a 99 or 100."

"Still." Poe smirks at her. "I'm impressed."

Rey is, too. She can't stop the smile from sliding across her face, and for the first time, she feels like her genius mind is working for her, instead of the other way around. She practically skips on her way to study hall, where she sees Ben already seated.

"Well?" He looks up at her, and Rey feigns a blank mask for all of three seconds before a grin splits her face.

"Thanks for all your help." She tosses her exam down in front of him.

Ben's eyes boggle. _"98?"_

"Yeah." Rey plops down in the chair next to him. "Was it a 99 or 100 for you?"

Ben shakes his head and pulls his exam out from under his notebook. _96._

"I beat you?" For a moment Rey worries he'll be pissed or he'll think she's bragging, but he's grinning, too.

"Clearly."

"I couldn't have done it without you," Rey says.

"Uh-huh, sure." Ben leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. " _Sure_."

* * *

"Get your test back yet?" Snoke greets Ben as he stomps leftover snow off his boots.

He nods. "Mm-hm." He digs through his bag and produces the text. "Only two wrong."

"Not bad." The almost-praise sets Ben's heart jumping and a smile to his face.

"Rey actually got a 98."

Snoke peers at him. "The foster kid from Jakku?"

"Yeah, I actually helped her study—I remembered all the tips you gave me, and—"

It happens too fast. Ben barely registers that Snoke's hand is flying towards him before it smacks into his face, sending him sprawling on the floor.

 _Snoke_ hit _me._

Ben pinches his right arm, although his cuts have been healing and it doesn't sting like it should. Tears blur his vision as he licks his lips and taste metallic blood.

Snoke towers over him. "You mean to tell me this _nobody_ beat you on a test because you were too infatuated with her to spend time studying yourself?"

"No!" Ben scrambles to his knees, hand hovering over his face, which still burns. _Snoke_ hit _me_. Is his tutor literally going insane? Not that this is the first time... but it's the most unreasonable.

"Maybe I've been wasting all my time on you," Snoke sneers. "You're too flighty to pay attention when it counts. It's your junior year, Ben Solo. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Of course it does! It's just two points!"

Snoke's hand flies up again, and Ben cowers, arm raised defensively. Snoke sighs and lets his arm down, sinking into a chair.

"I'm sorry for hitting you, Ben. It's just that I had such high hopes for you, and this girl—whatever crush you have on her—she's a distraction." Snoke's voice trembles, as if he's afraid too—but that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

"I'm not—I don't!" Ben insists, partially wanting to laugh in Snoke's face because _this is ridiculous_ , but the weight of so many years of Snoke knowing him better than he knows himself, almost as if he can see into Ben's mind, smothers that urge. He _does_ have a crush on Rey. And isn't that part of what drew Ben to Snoke in the first place—the notion that Snoke understood, that Snoke could relate? "It's not like that—come on, Snoke—"

"You have the chance to make something of yourself, Ben Solo. You don't have to be like your uncle, like your mother, who are both spectacularly failing at improving the institutions they are supposed to improve. You can be like your grandfather—the eventual governor, remember? He didn't let anything distract him from his purpose. He pursued his goals wholeheartedly, and the state remembers him as a great man."

"I'm not like my uncle. Or my mother," Ben insists.

Snoke rubs his hand down his weathered face. "You have so much _potential_ , Ben. Remember not to bury your talents. Cultivate them, use them, or else you'll be another useless person wasting their life on this earth."

Ben thinks of Uncle Luke and his mother and how they don't understand, how they don't even try. "I don't want to be like my uncle, or my mother. I want to be like my grandfather, like you." _Don't give up on me, please don't_. Panic sears his throat. _I don't want to be useless._

 _Your giftedness is useless, Ben_ , Luke once told him after he got in trouble for not paying attention in class for the zillionth time, all because he's already learned the material. _If you can't control your behavior._

Snoke laughs. "But you don't want to be like me, do you?"

"Yes, I do," Ben insists. "Snoke—"

"Fine," Snoke acquiesces.

"Thank you," Ben mutters, his hands trembling as his stomach quakes. Even so, the feeling that something is off, that he shouldn't be this attached to another human being, that he shouldn't be reacting like a coke addict told he can't get a hit, churns inside of him.

"Tell me, how is your uncle handling this latest news?" Snoke asks. "Of the fire?" Snoke's dark eyes dance, and Ben gulps.

"I didn't have anything to do with it. Not this time." He clutches the back of a chair, squeezing and squeezing.

Snoke chuckles. The sound shudders its way down Ben's spine. "I know you didn't. Because I lit it."

" _What?"_

"Luke Skywalker is ruining D'Qar High, with all his soft discipline policies," Snoke snarls. "I know what that boy keeps doing to that other kid, the perfect one. The school's test scores are going down, plummeting really. If it takes drastic measures to get rid of him—well, it's worth it in the long run. It's for the greater good." He rises, and even at Ben's full height of 6'3'', Ben has to crane his neck to look up at Snoke. "And they never should have ousted me as principal. You know the only reason they did that is because of Luke Skywalker's legacy, because of his bloodline, when he barely even _knew_ his father. I knew Anakin Skywalker far better than he did, and your grandfather would blow a gasket if he knew about all the changes his son has made."

Ben feels like he's going to throw up. "But—"

"No one's getting hurt," Snoke croons. "The facility isn't even destroyed."

Ben nods. "Of course. Did—did you use firecrackers?" _The ones you took out of my car?_

"No, Ben, I'm not that foolish. Gasoline did well." Snoke leans over him. "I would never put you at risk like that."

Ben's cheek still aches, but he ignores it as he nods. His uncle is a terrible principal, and Ben knows that he's too soft to crack down on Hux and Phasma. Ben's played his uncle's gentleness for years, but he thinks of Rey's text about a brick being thrown through Poe's window, and Ben knows Hux well enough to know the kid isn't going to let up on Poe. _Maybe it'd be for the best if he were to get fired like Snoke was before._

That night, when he pulls into his driveway after several long hours studying, Ben sees a text from Rey. Another video of Artoo.

For the first time in weeks, Ben doesn't reply to her text.

When he goes inside, he finds his father standing in the entryway, arguing with Mom and Threepio. Chewie leans against the wall and shrugs at Ben.

"Ah, there you are," Dad says, turning towards him.

Ben's lungs tighten. _Does he know?_

"Why do you spend so many long hours away?" Dad demands.

"I'm studying!"

"You missed dinner, Ben, without so much as a text," Mom says, crossing her arms.

Ben rolls his eyes. "How was I supposed to know you'd have company?"

"You would if you checked your phone."

Ben scowls.

"I have to go back to the office tonight. Jabba Hutt's having a field day with the day's events, and Lor needs me to help him with damage control." Mom shakes her head. "Your father will be staying here tonight."

Ben glares at the man, hating his vest, his old jeans, and his graying hair. "Threepio is perfectly able to—"

"Your father also wants to spend some time with you," Dad interrupts, voice tight.

"I have to study. I flunked a chemistry test today. Yesterday." Ben pushes past him, heading towards the stairs.

"Flunked? Ben, Mr. Ematt showed me your test results today. You got a 96."

"Well, he shouldn't have done that!" Ben shouts, whirling around. "It wasn't your business!"

"What happened to your face?" Dad demands.

"I fell on some ice. And a 96 isn't good enough. I can do better."

"I'd rather see you happy than successful!" Dad yells as Ben stomps up the stairs.

Ben pauses on the top stair, hand gripping his right forearm, digging in hard enough to cause bruises, surely. "You can't even make _Mom_ happy."

"That's it!" Dad pounds up the stairs, heading for him, and Ben tries to run but his father grabs him by the shoulder. " _Ben_. Please," he pleads. " _Please_. Listen to me. What is going on with you? I don't want you doing this to yourself. You don't have to be perfect. Just… come on, Ben. I miss you."

Ben shakes his head. "It's too late."

"Come on, Ben. I'll find you another tutor."

The skeletal hand of horror roves down Ben's back. "No! Snoke's the best!"

"I don't like him, Ben, and the more time you spend with him, the more I feel like I'm losing you." Are those _tears_ in Dad's eyes?

What does it matter? Dad, who's never understood Ben and never tried, who makes fun of Ben's very real pain at his failures to live up to his expectations, wants to cut his contact with the only man who's ever fully believed in Ben.

"You _already_ lost me," Ben sneers before wrenching his arm away.


	7. Chapter 7

"I'm scared," Ben confesses to Snoke that Sunday. "He's been talking to Mom about it, and I heard her talking to Threepio. I don't want to leave you. You're the only one who—who—" He tries to stymie a sob and fails. "I wish he wasn't my father!" He curls his right hand into a fist, feeling the sharp sting of his new cuts. Ben's only cried in front of Snoke once before, years ago, and that was the first time Snoke ever hit him. "I wish he would just— _go away."_

"That is a problem," Snoke agrees. He's not angry. Ben relaxes.

"Mom doesn't seem as convinced," Ben says, lifting his eyes. "Do you think you could meet with her? Talk to her?"

"She knows my opinions on her brother." Snoke shakes his head. "Especially with the board meeting upcoming next week, I'm afraid that will never work."

"But I don't know what I'll do without you!" Ben's never felt so desperate. " _Please_ , Snoke. I'll do anything." Without Snoke, he'll be all alone.

Snoke pauses, stroking his chin. " _Anything_?"

Hope springs inside of Ben, shooting to his fingertips, his toes. Does Snoke have an idea? "Yes. _Anything_."

"Well… can you keep a secret?" Snoke leans closer, closing Ben's notebook.

Ben nods. "Of course."

Snoke's voice is barely above a whisper, cracked and gravelly. "I'm planning on lighting another fire on the school grounds Wednesday evening. The night before the board meeting."

"If you win and Uncle Luke's removed, that won't even help," Ben protests. "My father will still—"

"Let me finish," Snoke interrupts, his hand closing in around Ben's right wrist and squeezing. Ben tries not to cringe. "The police will be under a lot of pressure to find the culprit."

"I don't understand."

"If I make a few phone calls, distract Chewie… your father might not have an alibi."

Ben can't breathe. He can't believe what Snoke is suggesting. "They'd never believe a cop—"

"They would if they were to find a container with the accelerant in his car. At least for a little while. There'd never be enough evidence to convict him, so he'd go free eventually, but by then, his credibility will surely be destroyed in your mother's eyes."

 _And I'd get to stay with Snoke,_ Ben realizes. He feels like he's teetering over a pit he'll be exhilarated to fall into, but the fall might kill him. "How would the… container with the accelerant get into his car?"

"That," Snoke muses. "I leave to your intelligence."

"I can't do that."

"It's up to you," Snoke says, disappointment saturating his tone. "Do you want to continue our lessons or not?"

"I do." _But he's my father._

 _I don't know what to do with that kid anymore,_ Ben heard Dad saying the night before.

Snoke, at least, has plans for him, hopes for him.

 _This is criminal. You can't go back._ _And who the hell burns down a school to make it better?_

 _Snoke had to break you down._ And it'd be a small fire, Ben's sure of it, because Snoke is smarter than Ben and won't burn a building down like the theater. The gymnasium will reopen in another week. "What are our other options?" Ben stammers.

"There aren't any." Snoke peers at him. "I really need you to do this, Ben."

 _Need..._ Snoke's never claimed he needed him before.

Ben locks himself in his room when he returns home, gripping his arm and waiting for the pain to guide him, but all he feels is pain and hope mingling. They shouldn't be. He should feel one or the other.

Letting out a scream, Ben kicks his desk and sends his calculator and pens flying all over the floor.

"Well now, really, Ben!" Threepio calls from somewhere down the hall. "Is everything all right?" The latter sentence is an afterthought, a polish painted over his real feelings.

"Fine!" Ben drops to his knees and picks everything up. _I am being torn apart._

 _I don't know what to do._

Snoke would know what to do. Snoke wouldn't have these doubts.

 _But he's your father._

Is he, though? He's never been there.

 _What does blood matter anyways?_ Ben thinks as he scratches at his arm with a nail file. He wants Threepio to walk in on him, even if he might stab himself if the butler does. He wants someone to tear apart his mind and find out what Snoke's planning. He wants to hear Snoke tell him that it's the right thing to do, even if Ben's not so sure it is, because he doesn't trust himself to succeed without Snoke. And Snoke cares about what matters to Ben: doing well. His parents only ever reassure him he doesn't have to do well, something Ben doesn't want to hear because he doesn't want to fail, and he doesn't trust himself not to fail.

The stairs creak as Threepio heads down them, and Ben wishes he were dead.

* * *

"Hey!" Rey finally confronts him on Wednesday after he's been snippy for the past two days, slamming her books down on Ben's desk. "Remember me? Why won't you answer any of my texts?"

"I've been busy," Ben mutters.

"Yeah, you said that the past two days. Can you be _unbusy_ for just a second here?" Rey pops some bubble gum and Mr. Statura clears his throat.

"Into the trash can, Miss Kenobi."

"Yes, sir," Rey squeaks, getting up to spit it out. "Damn," she says when she returns. "It was strawberry flavored."

Ben laughs.

"What are you doing after school today?" Rey asks.

"Getting coffee with…" Ben clears his throat. "With my father. With my dad."

"Really?" Rey's clearly shocked, but she smiles. "That's good."

"I hope so." Ben sighs. "You can never tell, not with him."

"I miss you," Rey says suddenly, reaching out so her knuckles brush his. Electricity shoots through him. "Why don't we hang out? After—after your coffee date? Or do you have a tutoring session?"

"Not tonight, I don't. Wednesday's we don't meet, and besides, there's the school board meeting tomorrow Snoke needs to get ready for…" Ben's voice trails off. It can't hurt for him to have an alibi either. "Okay."

"Okay?" Rey grins. "Why don't you text me when you're done? Come over your uncle's, have some hot chocolate with Finn and me, and maybe Poe too if you don't mind—once he finishes working. He wants to show Finn and me _The Breakfast Club_. Have you ever seen it?"

Ben shakes his head. "Sounds good. I'll—text you."

"Awesome." Rey pulls out _Crime and Punishment_ , the new book they're reading in their literature class. "Time to catch up with Raskolnikov and his internal conflict."

Ben's already read the novel, and he finds himself relating to the troubled protagonist. Their teacher spent an hour droning on and on about the significance of the names in the novel, including that Raskolnikov's name hinted at a split mind, a dual nature, a schism.

Ben feels the same way. When he texted his father asking if they could meet alone, just the two of them, Dad replied _sure thing,_ complete with a smiley face emoji, the first time Ben's ever seen him use one of those things.

The container with the same fuel Snoke plans to use to light the fire that night rests in the trunk of the Finalizer.

Even as Ben says _later_ to Rey and drives off to meet his father at Cantina Carafe, he's not sure he can do it. Even if it is temporary… it's still jail. A criminal record. His father's career will be ruined.

But if he doesn't, he'll lose Snoke, lose his only chance at success.

His father's late, Ben realizes as he enters the coffee place and finds a table. _Of course he is._

"Hey, kid," Dad says when he enters, waving. "Come here."

Ben shuffles over, arms wrapped around himself, but that can't save him from a hug.

"Sorry," Dad says. "I'm just—so glad you texted."

Ben swallows and looks at his scuffed boots. "How's Chewie?"

"Oh, he's good. Says to tell you hello." Dad nods at the menu. "What do you want?"

Ben's stomach flames so hot he doubts coffee will be good for him, but since he'll be having hot chocolate with Rey later, he asks for one anyways. He tells his father about his plans for later.

"They're nice kids," Dad agrees. "Much nicer than that Hux you were hanging around with."

Ben scowls. "I never liked Hux." _He was a convenient friend, that's all._ He casts a sidelong glance at his father. "Did he throw that brick through the Damerons' window?"

Dad shrugs as he pays for their two medium coffees, both with cream and sugar. Ben usually takes his black. "There's no proof."

"Oh." Ben figured that was the case. He sips the coffee and feels his insides melt in delight. He's forgotten how good coffee with cream and sugar tastes. "How are… you and Mom?"

"We're not seeing lawyers anymore, if that's what you mean." Dad blows on his drink, evidently finding it too hot. "We'll see. I still love her. She loves me. We're just… different. And she's got a lot on her mind now."

Ben nods. "She does." The conversation stalls, and Ben focuses on the coffee, on the pain in his stomach and in his arm.

"How're classes?"

"Fine. Chemistry's… rough. So is calculus."

"Sure, if you call _a 96_ rough." Dad rolls his eyes, clearly joking, and yet it strikes Ben like a slap.

"Snoke's got some ideas to help me get better," Ben says, waiting for the reaction, hoping against hope his father will offer him a way out.

Dad scowls. "Not for much longer."

 _You can't even pretend for one hour?_ Ben wants to scream. Not scream. Cry.

He drinks more coffee, burning his tongue.

* * *

"I like this movie," Finn declares as Rey wipes at her eyes as Bender strides across a field, thrusting his fist in the air.

"It hit a little close to home," Rey admits, sipping the hot chocolate Poe spiked with "just a teeny bit" of peppermint schnapps. "At least the Bender part."

"You're too nice to be like him," Ben dismisses her.

"No, but his backstory. With his father. Unkar was like that. _Stupid, useless_ … all of that."

Poe sits up, watching her as she blinks back tears. Finn takes her hand, and Ben scowls.

"Did he hit you?" Ben asks, clenching his own fists.

She nods.

"Bastard."

Rey laughs. "Yeah, he was."

The house phone goes off, and Artoo leaps out of her lap. "Dammit."

Luke shouts something from his room, and they all exchange looks of concern and wait in pressured silence, Poe hiding the bottle of schnapps, until Luke rushes out of his room.

"There's another fire."

"Another fire?" Rey gasps. "At the school?"

"Yeah. The chemistry labs this time. It's dangerous, and it's bad. Really bad. I don't know when I'll be home."

"The chemistry—it's _bad?"_ Ben asks, eyes wide. He clutches his arm and Rey scowls.

"Can we come?" Finn asks.

"It's dangerous," Luke repeats. _"No."_ He marches out the door without another word.

"So, Ben…" prompts Poe the moment they hear the car pulling out of the driveway.

"I can drive," Ben says, the undercurrent in his voice: _since_ I _didn't have anything to drink._

"Okay," Rey agrees. Finn hesitates. "Come on, Finn."

Finn sighs but follows.

"It's almost like someone has a personal vendetta against Luke," Rey says. "Or D'Qar."

"You read too many mysteries," Finn teases as Ben clutches the steering wheel. He ends up parking down the street from the school. Smoke billows up in the sky.

" _Shit_ ," Poe says in awe. "No way there'll be school tomorrow."

"This is really bad for Luke, isn't it?" Finn asks anxiously. Ben shrugs, but even in the dark Rey can make out his graying pallor.

They stand together, the four of them, shivering as they watch smoke and flames shoot up towards the sky, firemen rushing past them, shouting. Chewie spots them and waves.

Within a half an hour, the flames start to die down.

Rey leans her head against Ben's shoulder. He stiffens, and then relaxes.

Until a shout pierces the night, more angry and sickening than the bellowed orders that have been ringing out. " _What are you talking about?"_

Rey whirls around at the sound of Han's voice. "That's your dad!"

Ben's eyes are wide, and he's running with Rey, with Finn, with Poe, towards where an African-American officer stands in front of Han's cruiser, his face white.

"I had nothing to do with this and you know it," Han insists.

"Do you—"

"No, Lando, I don't have an alibi! I shouldn't need one. I met my son for coffee—I went for a walk—" Han's eyes fall on the four of them.

"He did meet me for coffee," Ben speaks up, stepping forward. Rey notices him shaking.

"What's going on?" she demands.

Everyone ignores her. "What time did you leave the coffee place?" Lando asks.

"Um—five?" Ben offers. "It was at Cantina Carafe…"

"Not good enough. The fire didn't start till seven." Lando turns to Han. "Listen, you're my friend. You know I know you didn't do this. But between the anonymous tip—"

"Of course it was anonymous," Han snarls.

"—and the gas container in your trunk—Han, you've got to know what it looks like. If I don't—you know they'll cry favoritism. Think of what they'll do to Leia. They'll pin it on her, you know they will." Lando drops his voice, and Rey strains to hear. "I'm sure the gas type won't even match the chromatograms. You said the container is from the summer?"

"I don't know, probably." Han waves his hand. "I have a lot of junk back there. I don't always keep track of it."

"Han, I _have_ to."

"No, you don't!" Chewie yells, pushing himself in front of Han. Finn gasps.

"Chewie, don't!" Han grabs his partner's arm, looking at the four kids, at his son especially, with pain in his eyes. "I'll go with you willingly, Lando. You better sort this out quickly, though."

"Will do," Lando promises.

"Go _where?"_ Rey shouts as she sees Lando grab silver handcuffs form his belt. "No!"

"You can't do this!" Finn cries.

"You know he didn't do it!" Poe shrieks.

" _Dad!"_ Ben screams. The terror in Ben's voice, the look of despair on Han's face—it almost drives Rey to her knees. She heaves, vomit surging up her throat.

"What's going on?" Luke charges over and Rey races to him, not caring that she's not supposed to be here, not caring that she's been drinking—under his roof, no less.

"Don't let them do this!" she sobs.

"Wait!" Ben cries. "Wait, I—no! Please don't!"

"Lando—"

"I don't have a choice, Luke!" Lando shouts, his voice cracking. An obese figure appears behind them, and Rey recognizes him from the picture she's seen in the paper. Jabba Hutt.

And behind _him_ , Leia Organa, her face draining as she watches Lando arrest her husband, reading him his Miranda rights.

"I love you," Leia says.

Han looks back at her. Rey can't see his face, but she hears him: "I know."

Luke grabs Rey, holding her back as she cries. She looks to Ben, sees him gripping his right arm, sees his mother rushing to him to offer comfort—but what on earth could Leia possibly say?


	8. Chapter 8

"Really?" Luke demands when they arrive home and he sees Poe's small flask of peppermint Schnapps. "Get in my car, Dameron. I'm driving you home."

"Ben didn't drink. That's why he drove," Rey says quickly. At the scene, Ben agreed to go home with his mother.

"Glad to know you've got _some_ degree of responsibility," Luke says sarcastically, and tears spring to her eyes. She hadn't thought it was a big deal.

Poe shuffles out, head hanging. Finn wraps his arms around Rey, but she pulls away. She wants to be alone.

School is cancelled. Rey wakes to the rich scent of Luke's chocolate chip pancakes, but even they can't lift her spirits. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

Luke nods. "I know. You just—I've already talked to Finn about this. You can't do that again."

"I won't," Rey promises as Luke slides a plate of pancakes towards her.

Why would something like this happen to Han? She doesn't believe for a second that he's guilty. Why couldn't this happen to Unkar Plutt or that Snoke, even? Why do the nice people in her life always have to suffer?

She spends the day trying to study as she watches as gray clouds roll overhead, boiling in preparation of another pending snowstorm. Luke's out for most of it, and when he arrives back late in the afternoon, his face is grayer than the sky.

"Oh no," Finn says as Artoo prances over to Luke, who picks the cat up and holds him.

"The chromatograms of the accelerant used in the chem lab appear to match the one found in Han's car."

"What does that mean?" Finn demands. "What even are these chromathings?"

"They're—" Rey starts, but Finn waves her off.

"I don't really care. I just want to know what this means for Han." Finn tosses his phone away from him as he peers up at Luke.

"It means, they can't let him go. Not yet. The type of accelerant used matches the accelerant used in this fire, and in the one in the gymnasium. Interestingly, not the one from the summer, though." Luke scratches Artoo behind the ears.

"There's no way he did it," Finn declares. "Like, why would he? They don't even have a motive."

"Everyone knows that." Luke sets Artoo down, and the cat winds itself around his ankles. "It'll never hold up in a trial. I don't think. It's just going to take a little longer."

"Was what Han said true? Last night?" Rey asks, grabbing a blue throw pillow and holding it against her chest. "About an anonymous tip?"

"Yes."

"God, it's like a set up!" Finn says. "Like someone's actually framing him. It's crazy."

"Who would even want to do that?" Rey demands, her mind already flitting through possibilities. Not that she knows Han well enough... but he was kind to her. He helped get her away from Unkar. He helped get her with Luke, where she actually feels like she has a _family_.

Something cold and ghastly grips Rey's chest.

Luke shakes his head. "Let's leave that to Lando and Chewie." He glances at the clock. "I've got to get ready for tonight's board meeting."

* * *

 _I love you._

 _I know._

Ben hasn't been able to get out of bed all day. Mom came in earlier to ask if he needed anything, if he wanted to talk.

" _No._ Go away," he groused, rolling over.

"Ben," she tried again, reaching for him.

"I said _go away!"_ he screamed, and she did.

 _I did this_. Ben wants to hurl, but his stomach won't even indulge him with nausea. He's so calm on the outside, and yet he feels so terrified. He's drowning and no matter how hard he kicks or claws for air, he won't make it, and there are no lifeguards around, so he might as well give in, let the water fill his lungs and carry him down to drown.

Ben grabs a pair of nail clippers and pulls out the small file, nicking his right wrist. He drags it up his arm, waiting for the sting to graze him with relief, but it doesn't come.

Ben howls into his pillow and stabs at his arm until blood, a lot more blood than he intended, pours from his arm. _Shit._

He scrambles up, grabbing an old t-shirt from his overflowing dresser and wrapping it around his arm. _Please don't let me have hit an artery._

 _If you had, it'd be spurting,_ Ben reminds himself. _You'll be fine._

 _Traitor._

Ben shivers as he leans against the wall and worries over whether his lightheadedness is all his imagination or from actual blood loss. Tears, actual tears, eke out from the corners of his eyes.

He'd screamed in genuine horror last night—or was it? Was it all acting? Ben can't even tell. He's a mess. He's being torn apart.

His phone buzzes with a text from Rey. _How are you?_

 _Fine,_ he responds, but he's not fine.

He can never go back.

He crossed a line and a gulf opened up behind him. His father can never know. This will always be between them.

 _He deserves it. And it's temporary_ , Ben tells himself.

He presses against his wound, trying to staunch the bleeding, and also drinking in the pain to satiate his internal torment. But he feels thirstier than ever.

* * *

" _Reckless… it's his brother-in-law who's been arrested, if he suspected he wouldn't have pushed it… too soft…"_

Really, after reading the paper, Rey's not shocked when Luke arrives home and announces that he's stepping down as principal, effective immediately. "Mr. Snoke will be standing in. And school _is_ on tomorrow."

 _Ben's tutor,_ Rey realizes. _At least he'll be happy._

Or would Ben be? Could he be, with his father languishing in jail without bail?

Rey crawls into bed, her mind spinning with all the conversations she's had with Ben about Snoke, about how Snoke would be a better principal than Luke, about how awesome Snoke's tutoring is, about how his father means nothing to him.

 _Dad!_

 _He screamed last night_ , Rey tells herself. _He couldn't have faked that._

Horrified at the direction her thoughts have taken, Rey curls in on herself. _It doesn't make sense. He wouldn't._

 _I'm getting coffee with my father._

Surely coffee would provide the perfect opportunity for Ben to stash that accelerant in Han's car. But he couldn't have lit the fire. He was with them.

 _Snoke could have._

 _Did he use me for an alibi? Did I provide him one?_

It's one in the morning, and Rey tosses and turns, hoping to shed these thoughts, fling them out of her mind. Instead, they cling, whispering and invading. She has no evidence. And she hopes she's wrong.

 _Please be like Han, Ben. Don't be like Unkar._

Luke still gets up to make her and Finn omelets in the morning, which makes Rey feel worse. Finn, too, is quiet and eats as if he's not really tasting anything.

"Have a good day!" Luke calls as Poe beeps the horn outside.

"I can't believe it," Poe says as they slide into his car. "Like, I seriously can't. It's not Luke's fault."

"Or Han's," grumbles Finn.

Rey presses her forehead against the cold glass window. Poe drives slowly, as snow is already starting to fall.

When they arrive, she spots Ben getting out of his car. "You two go in. I want to talk to Ben," Rey says, marching over to him. The snow stings against her chapped hands, and she realizes she's forgotten her gloves.

"Ben!"

He turns around, dark circles under his eyes.

"We need to talk," Rey says, biting her lip. "Over here." She catches him by the arm and drags him around the side of the building, towards the athletic field. From there she can see the charred brick of the gymnasium, the ruined theater center. She can't see the chemistry lab, but that doesn't matter. She sees the shadows under his eyes and knows that's all the evidence she needs to confront him. "Did you do it?" She fights to keep her voice low and steady.

Ben plays with his black leather gloves. "What are you talking about?"

 _He_ did. Rey shakes her head, struggling to breathe. "I _know_. What you _did_. To your own _father_." Tears sting her eyes. "You lured him into meeting for coffee with you. You put that accelerant container in his car."

Footsteps echo behind them. _Finn_.

"That's insane!" Ben defends himself, and for a split second Rey hopes—but no. She sees the way his gaze shifts, the way he clutches his goddamn arm. "I didn't light that fire! I was with you!"

"You _used_ me," she spits.

Ben throws his hands up in the air. "Why would I do that to my own father?"

"I don't know," Rey sneers, speaking louder to ensure Finn can hear. "But I'm betting it has to do with that tutor of yours. Snoke."

Ben's lips harden into a flat line. "Well, he's acting principal now, and he'll be a better one than Skywalker. You'll see." His voice softens, as if he's pleading. "You need a better principal—the school does, and you do especially—"

"He's a monster!" Rey shouts, her voice cracking and echoing and she doesn't care who hears. "And _you're a monster!"_

Ben stumbles back as if she's hit him. "Rey—"

In the past she would have hit him. Punched him, kicked him, like she settled all her fights in Jakku. _He deserves it. He's ruining everything, every happiness you thought you'd have._

But she doesn't want to be that girl anymore. And she can hear Finn breathing behind her, and she remembers that Ben hasn't taken every happiness from her.

She walks away.

"Rey, please! This is crazy! It's not true! Don't—"

"Leave her alone," Finn snarls. _Finn_ _believes me,_ Rey realizes.

"Rey—"

"I said _leave her the hell alone, asshole!"_

There's a thud, and Rey whirls around to see Finn falling to the snow, his hand over his nose and Ben's hand curled in a fist.

Rey lunges at Ben, kicking him in the chest and slamming her fist into his face, not caring that he's bigger and stronger. _He hurt Finn!_

"Rey, no!" Poe's arms grab her, holding her back. "What the—"

 _Where did he come from?_ Rey wonders as Poe clutches her and Ben looks up at her in shock, sprawled on his back in the snow. More snow spews from his mouth as he coughs.

"All of you!" rants the outraged voice of Mr. Ackbar. "In the principal's office. _Now!"_

* * *

"You can go back to class, Mr. Dameron," Snoke informs him.

"Um, okay." Poe stands, glancing at Rey, Finn, and Ben, the latter two of which are both holding ice packs on their noses.

"As for the rest of you," Snoke continues. "Your mother should be here soon, Ben Solo. As for you two, your guardian is on his way."

Rey wilts in her chair and Ben cringes. This is not going to be a good scene. But at least if Snoke's here, Rey can't blast off on her crazy theory. He hopes. _Not that anyone would believe her,_ he reassures himself. She has no proof.

"I'll speak with you first." Snoke waggles his index finger at Ben, who gingerly rises and enters the office that, until recently, had been his uncle's.

"So," Snoke says, his voice irate. "Just _what_ did you think you were doing? It's my first day, Ben, and I _will_ not let you ruin it for me!"

He can't tell Snoke. There's no telling what his tutor, his principal, will do if he finds out Rey suspects the truth. "I'm sorry. It was… a dumb fight."

Snoke snorts. "Indeed it was. You may be my star pupil, but that doesn't mean I can show you any favoritism. Not after sentiment brought Luke Skywalker down."

Ben pinches his arm. "I know." He'd hoped otherwise, though.

"I'm suspending you for today," Snoke informs him. "You will go home with your mother, and you will study, and you will be prepared for our session tomorrow."

Ben nods, but the stigma— _suspended_ —mauls at him.

"And Ben," Snoke adds as he rises, signaling that the meeting is over and there will be no negotiation. "You did well the other day."

Ben's mind explodes with hope, with pride, and with disgust and shame.

He hasn't just lost his father, and probably his mother. _I've lost Rey. She hates me._

Uncle Luke and Ben's mother burst into the office at exactly the same time, both of them wearing identical expressions of concern and rage.

"You are to take him home," Snoke tells Mom. "He's been suspended for the day."

"Suspended?" Mom clenches her fists. "Ben, as if there's not enough going on!"

Ben rolls his eyes and stalks out the door without allowing himself another glance at Rey.

* * *

"Come in, all of you," Snoke grumbles, glaring out the office windows at Mr. Ackbar, who waves happily at Luke.

Finn pries himself off the bench he's sitting on, nose throbbing. Ben packs one hell of a punch.

Finn's never seen Luke look so pissed as his foster father marches into Snoke's office, nostrils flaring. He beckons for Rey and Finn to take the two red chairs. Luke stands behind Finn, hands gripping the back of the chair.

"There will be a one day suspension for both of you, in accordance with fairness," Snoke announces immediately. "Today, you're going home. I will not tolerate any fighting on this campus." Snoke looks specifically at Rey. "I've seen your school records from Jakku, Miss Kenobi. Your I.Q. may be high, but that will not guarantee you a place at D'Qar High. If I catch you beating up one more—"

"In all fairness, she was defending me," Finn cuts in. To hell with manly pride. "Ben punched me, so she kicked him. And punched him."

Rey glowers at Finn. Finn shuts up.

"I don't _care_ about the personal circumstances," Snoke snaps. "All I care about is that my students are _safe_. And that means no fighting, no matter your intelligence or who your foster father is. If you're really so smart, you'll take heed."

"We'll take heed," Rey says quickly.

"We shall see." Snoke stands back up. "You're dismissed."

"Luke—" Finn tries as they leave the building. Snow and cold splash them in their faces. "I'm so sorry, I—"

"You heard Mr. Snoke. You can't mess up again," Luke says as he unlocks the car. "Get in."

"Ben was just being insufferable," Rey adds, giving Finn a pointed look as she ducks into the backseat. "We didn't mean for it to escalate."

 _Why doesn't she want me to tell?_

 _No proof,_ Finn realizes. Although even though Ben denied it, somehow Finn knows it's true.

 _What kind of monster would do that to his own father?_ Finn wonders. _How could he?_

 _You alive?_ Poe's texting him.

 _One day's suspension,_ Finn replies.

Poe replies with an old picture of Beebee-Ate looking sorrowfully at an empty bowl of food.

When they get home, Luke orders them to study. Both scurry to obey, a lump growing in Finn's throat. Because he thinks of this place as _home_ , and he's still afraid Luke will ask them to leave.

Finn pulls out calculus and tries to force his brain to concentrate. It's not working, so he pulls out his phone and reads Poe's latest texts.

 _What will you do with your one wild and precious day off?_

Finn sends Poe a picture of his calculus book right as Luke walks in. Finn stuffs his phone behind the book, although he's certain the guilt on his face gives him away.

"How's your nose?" Luke asks. "I brought you some ibuprofen."

"It's fine. But I'll take some." Because, truthfully, it throbs.

Luke hands him two little burnt orange pills and a glass of water. He takes a seat on the edge of Finn's bed.

"I'm really sorry," Finn blurts out. "First drinking, now fighting—it's not me. I mean, I don't usually do this stuff. I'm sorry—"

"Finn," Luke cuts in. "You don't have to keep apologizing. Once is enough."

Finn presses his thumb against the edge of the water glass, watching his print form and fade. "You still seemed mad, though."

"Well, I was. I'm still not particularly thrilled. But you've done your part and apologized. The rest is up to me." Luke offers him a smile.

Finn nods. He's never had someone talk to him like this.

"You know I'm not ever getting rid of you or Rey," Luke clarifies. "I can tell from your face that that's what's bothering you, isn't it?"

"It's just—" Finn stops himself, trying to form a coherent sentence out of the jumble of words rolling around his mind. "You've lost your job."

Luke shrugs. "Maybe."

"Well, for the time being. And Rey and I are just added stress, and we're being used against you in the press—like, are you only keeping us because you feel like you have to? Like out of obligation?"

Luke's jaw drops. "Of course not! Finn—"

"You shouldn't feel like you have to keep us. We're both—we've been through a lot. We'd survive." Even as he says it, Finn knows he's baiting Luke, wishing for his foster father to reassure him that he's got a _home_ , a real home, and he and Rey are worth it.

Luke peers at him. "Finn, I _care_ about you, and about Rey. I…" He blows out his breath. "What _have_ you been through?"

"Considering a lot of kids in the system, nothing too tragic." No abuse. Nothing like that. "Just being shipped from home to home after a couple months, a year at the most. No one ever wanted me, not for long."

Luke looks at him like he actually wants to hear. He's not like the social workers Finn's had, who said they cared but either lied or were too busy to put caring into action. And so Finn describes his various homes, how every time when he got his hopes up, they'd only be crushed months down the line. How he watched others, older than him and then younger than him, get adopted, and how he wondered—still _wonders_ —what's wrong with him, what makes no one want him, not even his own parents?

Luke wraps an arm around him, his hand clutching Finn's shoulder like he's actually a father. "Finn, I promise you that I will not send you or Rey away. You've both got a home for as long as you want it, even when you go off to college. I'm not lying to you." His eyes fix on Finn's, and Finn wants so desperately to believe it, to hit a plateau of belief instead of believing Luke for the moment and then swinging back over his canyon of doubt, like he's been doing.

"I know you don't fully trust me," Luke assures him. "That's okay. I'm not a perfect foster dad, I know, but I'll do the best I can. If I can forgive you your shortcomings, try to forgive me mine."

"What if I go out and get drunk? What would you do then? Not that I'm planning on it, but—"

"Finn, you're a teenager. You and Rey are _both_ teenagers. I don't expect perfection from either of you. Although the next time I catch either of you drinking, I _will_ ground you."

No one's ever told Finn that he doesn't have to be perfect before. He's tried so hard to be genteel, quiet, studious and kind, and it never brought him any fruit except his own peace.

 _Which is worth it. Maybe._

For a moment, Finn's mind darts back to Ben, and he wonders if Ben feels the same pressure. _Be perfect._ Only in an academic sense.

But Ben's never had to beg to be liked.

"Have you thought about seeing a counselor?" Luke asks. "I saw one, when I was younger and felt abandoned—his name was Yoda. I still remember him. He helped me work through my own issues—I was so angry with my father, and with my life, and with Leia for being my sister. And don't start worrying about me paying for counseling. Trust me, I of all people know it's worth it."

"Yeah… yeah, maybe," Finn says, and before Luke can move away, he gives him a hug.


	9. Chapter 9

"Ben, wake up, please!"

He cracks his eyes open. They're swollen, and they burn. Judging from the glaring sunlight storming through his window, it's at least noon. He didn't sleep until almost four in the morning, blasting his screaming music, cutting himself, and crying and trying to study and ripping pages from his notebooks when the blood stained them. For each problem he got wrong, he cut.

"Ben?"

His arm throbs and Ben shoves it under the blankets, hoping she hasn't seen and, somewhere, maybe hoping she has. But she hasn't.

"I'm going to visit your father," Mom tells him, easing herself onto his bed. "Will you—"

The idea of visiting Dad in jail makes Ben want to hurl. "You want me to see my father in jail?" he demands, twisting it, turning her good intentions against her like he always done.

 _You're a monster._

"He'd want to see _you_ ," Mom insists, her hand gentle on his back. "I know you got coffee Wednesday, before…" She blinks back her own tears, and Ben wants to hide under his pillow, punch something, scratch his skin, cry even because he can't be a monster if he cries, can he?

 _I love you._

 _I know._

"What about your work?"

"Han is more important," Mom states.

Ben peers at her, a headache throbbing in his temples. "Are you getting back together?" he asks, hoping and hating himself. Because if they get back together, he won't ever be able to look either of them in the eye, and yet his heart leaps even as his headache hunkers down, gripping him around the skull.

"Maybe." Mom smoothes the blankets covering him like she did when he was five and had a nightmare. "We'll have to go to counseling, of course, but we should work on it. We've been married sixteen years, together for well over twenty. And we have you." She kisses him on the forehead, and Ben cringes.

His mind calculates. "Were you married when you had me?" he asks, suddenly realizing what he's never realized before.

Mom smirks. "The month after."

Ben never wants to hear about this again. "I need to go to Snoke's for tutoring."

"Fine."

When Ben pulls in to the familiar driveway, his chest constricts. For the first time, he doesn't view this house as an oasis, as his future. Now, his view is tempered with his parents.

 _I love you._

 _I know._

"I'm pleasantly surprised you aren't grounded," Snoke greets him, opening the door to his dim home. "Since you seem intent on destroying everything you've worked for."

"I think my mom's got other things on her mind," Ben says as he stomps the snow off his boots.

Snoke chuckles for the first time Ben's ever heard. He's not sure he likes the sound—it cracks, it's coarse.

"They might be getting back together," Ben adds, stepping into the sunlight filtering in from the window. Dust shimmers around him.

Snoke's eyebrows descend into a sharp V. " _What?"_

"I—"

Snoke grabs Ben by his upper left arm, digging his fingers into his flesh. Ben gasps in pain. "Don't you understand that your father's opinions surely haven't softened against me? If they get back together—"

"Maybe once you've been principal for longer—" Ben stammers, and Snoke smacks him in the chest. Ben topples backwards over a chair, slamming into the ground on his funny bone, pain stabbing through his elbow and the wind knocked out of him.

"I should have known you'd be as sentimental as—"

"I'm not," Ben wheezes, shaking his head. " _Please_." And as he stares into Snoke's dark eyes, sees Snoke's mouth seizing and twitching, he thinks he sees the _monster_ Rey screamed about for the first time.

 _What if he wants me to frame Mom next?_

Snoke reaches down and grabs Ben's right forearm, pulling him to his feet, but Ben yelps in pain and Snoke frowns. "What happened?"

"Nothing—"

He yanks Ben's sleeve up, inspecting the scars and jagged slashes, the puncture wound from right after Han's arrest. Snoke presses against the puncture wound. Blood leaks.

"That," Snoke snarls. "Is not properly taken care of. Get in here." He drags Ben towards the bathroom, where he rifles through drawers and pulls out antiseptic and a bandage. "You did this to yourself."

Ben nods, unable to speak. _Sentimental_ …

"This," Snoke proclaims. "Is stupid. You're supposed to be a genius, Ben, not a mess falling apart over his parents' divorce." The antiseptic stings. Ben grits his teeth.

"Don't tell anyone," Ben says, even though he suspects he doesn't even have to ask.

Snoke snorts. "I won't." He tightens a bandage around it. "You need to be more careful. A wound like that could be serious. You've studied anatomy. You're lucky you didn't hit an artery."

"I know." There's no gentleness, no concern in Snoke's words. Ben reflects back on Rey's horrified reaction when she saw his arm. A scream wells up inside of him, but he'll never get to release it except with more marks on his arm.

"Let's get to studying," Snoke dictates, and Ben wants to grab the man's arm and beg him to help him, but he doesn't even know what that would entail.

By the time he leaves in the evening in a haze of disappointment and panic, Ben feels like he's struggling to breathe. He can barely think, and he can barely do any work. Snoke was more understanding that normal with his failures, but Ben doesn't know how long it will last. His chest hurts. And he can't leave Snoke now, not when he's done so much, _too_ much maybe.

 _I can't go back._

 _It's too late._

His father, his mother—they'd never forgive him, and Ben doesn't blame them. He tries to dreg up justifications to salve the inflamed panic in his mind. They don't come.

 _Fuck!_

A loud scream rips from Ben's throat as he pounds his fist against the dashboard. And then his car is sliding, spinning sideways, and as a guardrail surges towards him, all Ben can think is, _thank God._

* * *

"He's actually calling me," Rey says, staring at her phone.

"Don't answer," Poe advises. He, Finn, and Rey lounge on Luke's couch, sans alcohol this time. After his parents found out about the peppermint schnapps, Poe lost his keys for the weekend. His father did still drive him to Luke's though—mostly in solidarity with Luke, Poe figures. "Why are you being so insistent that we not tell Luke what we think anyways?"

When Rey told Poe why she fought with Ben, Poe couldn't believe it. But somehow, as he searches his feelings, he knows it's true. _Slimy bastard._ Ben should be in jail, not Han.

"Because there's no proof," Rey snaps.

"I can't believe Han hasn't been released yet," Finn mumbles.

The house phone rings, and Poe leaps to his feet. "Good God, is that a fire alarm?"

"No," Finn says, smirking. "It's our phone."

Luke marches into the room, answering in a low tone.

"So, we should get proof," Poe says, his voice lowered.

"That's ridiculous," Finn counters.

"We can't," Rey muses, tugging at the corners of a throw pillow.

Luke hangs up and marches through the living room. "Please tell me there's not another fire," Finn says.

"No. Ben crashed his car and can't reach Leia." Luke shakes his head.

"Shit," Rey says, staring down at her phone. "I should've picked up."

"I'm surprised he didn't call that tutor of his," sneers Finn.

Principal Snoke. Poe's father spent hours berating the man as a manipulative, power-hungry sociopath the night before.

"Well, he called me, so I'm heading out," Luke says. "Sorry to break this party up, but Poe, I'm not looking to head out twice this evening. I can drop you back home after if you come with me."

"Sure thing," Poe agrees, scrambling to his feet.

Rey reaches for her coat, biting her lip as if she's worried. "We'll come too."

"Pile in," Luke invites them.

Luke drives slowly. Even though the roads look smooth and innocent, Poe suspects they're coated with black ice. Despite the sunshine, the day proved so cold the weatherman's predicting record lows at night.

"Good grief," Luke gasps as he pulls up alongside a guardrail with a car that's been smashed in on the side. A tall figure huddles behind it.

"What happened?" Luke yells as he jogs towards his nephew. "Are you all right?"

Ben's eyes widen when he spots Poe, Finn, and Rey climbing out of the car. Okay, just Rey. _He's got it bad,_ Poe thinks. _Still_.

"I'm fine. Just a few bruises. And scrapes."

"That looks like a gash on your shoulder!" Luke reaches for his nephew, who jerks away. "Ben, you might need stitches."

"Oh my God, the window shattered," Finn says as if in awe. Poe shakes his head and smiles at his friend.

"I'm sorry I didn't pick up," Rey tells Ben, her voice stiff but her eyes watering.

"I didn't expect you to," he says, though he bites his lips as he watches her. _I see what you're about, pal,_ Poe thinks.

"Did you call the police?" Luke demands.

"I don't want to call the police!" Ben protests.

Luke sighs. "Ben, I know you're upset—and rightly so—about your father, but it's kind of the law after there's been an accident. And I think your car might have to be towed. Finn, call Chewie. I'll try your mother again."

Ben opens his mouth to protest, but Rey grabs him by the arm and leads him to Luke's car. "You have a first aid kit, right Luke?" she calls over her shoulder.

The cold snaps at Poe's face, and he looks to Finn. "Shall we?" They duck back inside Luke's car, Poe in the driver's seat, Finn in the passenger's.

"Don't worry," Rey says to Ben as she digs under the seat, pulling out a first-aid kit. "You're going to be fine."

"I know that, Rey." Ben sighs. "Thanks."

Poe turns around to see Rey's fingers shaking.

"It's not bleeding that badly," Ben insists.

"Want me to call Chewie?" Finn asks. Ben glares at him.

"Yes," Poe tells Finn. "I think you should."

"It's your _left_ arm, Ben," Rey says, and Poe doesn't understand. "Come on."

Ben rolls his eyes and tries to lift his left arm, and only his left arm, out of the sweatshirt.

"Just take it off, man," Poe says, his dinner curdling in his stomach. "She's just trying to help you." He wraps his arm around the seat.

"In case you haven't noticed, it's cold." And he finally just tears the sleeve, creating a flap of fabric that hangs down, revealing the gash on his shoulder and some red future bruises on his arm.

"Impact get your arm?" Poe asks.

"Apparently."

Rey frowns as she presses some gauze against the wound. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Really?" Ben asks hopefully.

"Chewie!" Finn sighs in relief. "Yeah, it's Finn. We're—where are we? What street?" he hisses at Poe.

"Starkiller Street."

"Yeah, we're on Starkiller Street. Ben's been in a car accident—I think _the Finalizer_ —" Finn dramatizes his voice. "—needs to be towed, and also, can you reach Leia? He can't, and Luke's shaking his head, so I'm guessing he can't either."

Ben scowls at him, but Poe feels proud of Finn's goading. And the fact that Finn still wears Poe's jacket makes Poe smile. If he's destined for a life of unrequited love, this isn't so bad.

* * *

"Ben!" Mom throws her arms around him. "Thank you so much, Luke."

"Took you long enough," Ben snips. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices Rey scowl.

 _What does it matter? You've lost her anyways._

But still, she helped him.

"Let me see." Mom tugs at his shirt, and Ben jerks away.

Dr. Kalonia appears with a medical chart. At least she hadn't required him to take his shirt off to stitch up his wound. Ben flexes his right hand. The doctor details instructions to Mom, who nods.

"Hey, kid." Chewie strides through the emergency room curtain, and Ben tries to smile. He can't. Chewie's been his father's best friend since childhood and is more loyal than anyone Ben's ever met. He'd go ballistic if he knew. "Your dad's worried about you."

"I'll bet he is," Ben sneers, because if he doesn't sneer, if he doesn't scoff, he might collapse.

Mom groans, and Chewie shakes his head. "Ben, come on. The man is in jail himself and worried more about you than—"

"He's never worried more about me," Ben shoots back as he staggers to his feet. "Han Solo only worries about himself." He looks to Mom. "Can we go?"

"If you really think that, then I don't know how to help you," Chewie says, voice tempered and face red behind his beard. He shakes his head in disgust as he storms away.

 _If you don't help me, who will?_

 _Nobody can._

He's in way over his head, and he's forgotten how to swim.

"Good night," Rey says as she leaves, her jaw set but her voice softer than he deserves.


	10. Chapter 10

Rey can't sleep. Not that night, and not the next. When she closes her eyes, she sees Unkar Plutt. She hears her own voice, screeching a plea that will never be answered, _"Come back!"_ She tastes her own blood, she smells the oil of the mechanic shop, she feels Unkar's meaty hand on her arm.

What she can't remember is her mother's face. Or her father's. She just hears her mother's promise: _I'll come back for you, sweetheart. I promise._

 _You lied,_ Rey thinks. _You lied to your own child._

Rey crawls out of her bed and paces as tears worm their way out of her eyes. _Why did you lie? Why wasn't I enough?_

Artoo claws against her door, and she lets the cat in. Overcome, her hands shaking, she texts Ben: _I know those bruises on your arm weren't from the car accident._ Not a _how are you,_ or anything polite. He doesn't deserve that.

 _You're a monster._

He is, but Rey wonders what made him that way.

Rey doesn't expect a response, especially not at two in the morning, but one flashes on her screen.

 _What are you talking about?_

She throws her phone back onto her bed. She can't deal with this right now.

Her phone rings five minutes later, and Rey curses and ends the call. He calls back.

"It's two am," she snaps in answer.

"I'm aware of the time. Why are you texting me such crazy shit?"

Rey laughs, slamming her palm against her scalp. "It doesn't matter."

"Rey, are you okay?"

"No. No, I'm not. Neither are you." She sniffs.

There's a pause. "Do you still think I did—what you accused me of?" He sounds gentle, hopeful— _he's playing me._

She's not going to be taken in like her mother took her in, with her glass lies. "You know you did that, Ben."

"And if you think I did it, then why haven't you turned me in to Uncle Luke or my mother?" Ben retorts.

"Because I don't have proof." Rey pauses, her throat aching. She reaches out and places her free hand against the frosted windowpane, watching her handprint form. "And because, like I said, I know those bruises didn't come from a car accident."

"What the hell—"

"I'm familiar with bruises, all right?" Rey interrupts. "Especially bruises that come from some asshole grabbing your arm so hard it hurts."

There's a pause. Rey leans closer to the window, drawing stars and hearts with her pinky finger.

"Your foster father—before Luke?" Ben asks.

She snorts. "Yeah. He was a real slave driver. If I didn't do everything exactly the way he wanted, I paid for it. And I never gave him all that he wanted." She shudders as she remembers the one time Unkar staggered in, sloshed, with a bottle of Jameson still in his meaty grip as he told Rey that if she wanted the week off from work, all she had to do was take her clothes off.

"I kind of know how that feels," he confesses. "I need to do everything perfect. Or else."

"Your mother?" Rey doesn't think so, but she wants it confirmed.

"She would never hit me!"

Rey's taken aback by his vehemence.

Ben's voice drops. "But… in other ways. I have to be perfect, Rey, I'm the mayor's son. A cop's son. The town genius. The principal's— _ex_ -principal's nephew. The governor's grandson. It's exhausting. And if I don't measure up, Jabba Hutt's there to write a story, or the kids at school will—"

Rey shakes her head, dropping to the floor. "I think that's kind of bullshit. People want to you be _good_. They want you to be _someone_. Me, my parents—whoever my grandfather was—they didn't care enough to—to stick around. And all Unkar Plutt ever wanted from me was for me to be a _no one_ who served him. And who slept with him."

"What?" Ben sounds taken aback.

"I never did it," Rey clarifies. "He just—he wanted me to, is all. He said he'd give me more food… give me less chores. When he was drunk. Once. He only said it once."

"Rey…" Ben's voice cracks. Artoo curls up beside her.

"He told me all I'd ever be is a crack whore slut like my mom," Rey sobs. "He said, 'why don't you start now?' I locked myself in my room."

"He's an asshole. Worse than that." There's fire in Ben's tone. "I'm so sorry, Rey."

She presses the back of her hand against her mouth, tears and snot running down her face. "I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. You're a selfish jerk."

"I'm sorry. You're right."

Rey blinks. "What?"

"I'm a louse. I'm—I—" She hears the notes of sheer desperation in his voice, the cracks and the vines of anxiety climbing it.

"Don't hurt yourself!"

He gasps as if he's crying, or already hurting himself.

Rey pulls her phone away from her face and looks for the button. _There!_ Her video switches on, and she waits for only seconds, but during those seconds she swears at him as she tells him to answer.

He does, and she can see his face, blotchy and blurry. "Don't hurt yourself," Rey repeats, staring at him.

"I don't know what else to do, Rey."

"I don't want you to hurt yourself. I mean, I still pretty much hate you, but I don't want you to hurt yourself." It's not true, though, and Rey's pretty sure the twitch in her lips gives her away. She doesn't hate him. She pities him.

Ben wipes at his eyes, and Rey realizes that it's the first time she's seen him without all his thick eyeliner. She likes the look. "Were you thinking of Unkar? Is that why you couldn't sleep?"

She nods.

"Why didn't you run away?"

"I thought about it, but I kept hoping my parents would come back," Rey admits. "My mother promised to. She left me with Unkar. I wanted to be sure they could find me."

"What changed?" Ben wants to know. "If you left with my father."

"I had a hearing with a social worker over the summer, and a judge… she told me to stop looking behind me, and to find my future in front of me." Rey snorts. "Sounds cheesy."

"No, it doesn't." There's a strange lilt of longing in his voice.

Rey sighs. "How are you getting to school this week?"

"Mom's driving me. Snoke will take me to my lessons."

"Lessons." Rey freezes. "Snoke hurt you."

"No. Snoke _helps_ me." He sounds like a little lost boy.

"Bullshit."

"Really, Rey. I—I'm nothing without him. Without him, I'd be—" Ben shakes his head. "Besides, why would you care? Don't you think I'm a _monster?_ Don't you think I deserve to suffer?"

The screen goes black, and Rey cusses to herself.

* * *

"So this is where you work?" Finn asks as he and Rey follow Poe into his office.

"Yep. The all-holy mayor's office." Poe waves his hand. "This is Lor San Tekka. Lor, these are my friends, Finn and Rey."

The elderly man shakes their hands. "Mayor's finally back today. Still worried about her husband, but they'll have to release him sooner or later. The charges won't stand."

"Can I talk to her?" Rey interrupts. "The mayor? Just briefly?" She plays with the zipper on her jacket, roving it up and down.

Poe and Finn exchange a look. _Is Rey finally going to tell someone?_

"I'll see if she's free," Poe says. "She's not in a meeting now, is she, Lor?"

He shakes his head. "She might have a lot to catch up on."

Poe knocks on the white door and hears Ms. Organa call, "Come in."

"Poe," she greets him. "Thanks for helping my son on Saturday."

"I—yes. Um—" Poe clears his throat. "Ms. Organa, someone—my friend Rey—Luke's—she's staying with Luke. She wanted to know if she could talk to you for a moment. If you have a moment. It's about Ben." At least Poe assumes so.

Ms. Organa switches her desktop monitor off. "Of course."

Poe ducks back outside and waves Rey in. He wants to stay, support Rey as she tells the mayor what will surely be the worst news of her entire life. Finn marches behind Rey, clearly with the same intention.

Why, oh why can't Finn like him? Poe bites his lip.

Rey scowls at both of them but doesn't protest.

"Rey," Ms. Organa greets her with a side hug. "I've heard so much about you, from Han and my son—I apologize we didn't get to talk Saturday night. Thank you for all you did for him."

Rey flushes. "It was just first aid. Basic stuff. Listen, Leia, can we talk privately?"

"Of course." Ms. Organa's lips widen in amusement as she waves her hand at a dumbstruck Poe and Finn. She doesn't even seem bothered by Rey's faux pas in calling her by her first name.

"What's that about?" Finn mutters to Poe.

"No idea." But as they leave the office, Poe leaves the door open a crack and hurries to his desk, grabbing several documents he needs to file. He already knows they don't go in the cabinet by the mayor's door, but no one else does.

"So this is how filing works? Exciting stuff," Finn comments as he stands so close to Poe that their elbows brush against each other.

"… I don't want to say too much," Rey hedges. "But he's pretty distraught, about—his father, and school, and other stuff. Like have you considered sending him to a therapist?"

" _What?"_ Finn mutters under his breath.

"Finn's been seeing someone lately, and I think it'd be helpful for Ben to—"

A hand lands on Poe's shoulder. "Neither of you are subtle," Lor San Tekka reprimands them, jerking his head. "Come away now."

Deflating, Poe and Finn traipse away from their eavesdropping. "She's not going to tell him, is she?" Poe hisses when he's at the correct filing cabinet.

"Nope." Finn crosses his arms as, as if on cue, Rey emerges from Ms. Organa's office.

Poe notices the blush on Finn's face and frowns. "Hey, seeing someone is a good thing. It's not a weakness."

Finn shrugs as Rey comes over to them. "Rey, why wouldn't you—"

" _We don't have any proof,_ Finn and Poe," she snaps.

"Granted, the dude could probably use some therapy, a self-help book, and an exorcism," Poe allows. "But seriously, Rey?"

"We have all our classes together, including a study hall of just us," Rey retorts. "I know him better than either of you." She stomps over to the waiting area and grabs a magazine.

Finn joins her, giving a pointed look over his shoulder at Poe.

 _We need to tell someone, don't we,_ Finn texts him.

 _Yeah, we do,_ Poe responds.

* * *

Poe drives Finn and Rey home after, and Rey immediately stomps up the stairs, clearly still pissed that they're pissed at her. _Whatever._

"Luke?" Finn asks, heading into the kitchen. "Can Poe and I talk with you for a moment?"

"Sure thing." Luke slides a plate of sizzling chicken off the burner. "What's going on?"

"We're not in trouble," Finn clarifies quickly.

"I didn't think so," Luke states, leaning against the counter. "What's going on?"

Finn stares at his feet. Poe clears his throat. "We don't have any proof of this, but… we think Ben Solo set his father up. For the fire. Snoke probably lit it."

" _What?"_ Luke's eyes widen.

"We don't have proof, though," Poe reiterates. "We just—we think—"

Luke shakes his head. "Poe, Finn, that is an _very_ serious accusation to make. Extremely serious. I don't know if you know how serious, and if you don't have proof—"

"Rey thinks so, too," Finn interrupts. "But she says that since there's no proof…"

"Rey is right," Luke says. "If you have no proof, it might be better not to say it at all."

"But it makes sense," Poe insists. "He met with his father, whom he's pretty clear to everyone that he absolutely _hates_ , the same day. He then agreed to watch a movie with us for an alibi—"

"That's an awful lot of conniving for a sixteen year old," Luke says, moving the chicken around with his spatula. "And you're wrong. Ben does not _hate_ his father."

"I think he's legit said that more times than I can count," Poe comments.

"Saying something and believing it are two different things, Poe." Luke turns back to them. "Think about what you're saying here, both of you. You're accusing your classmate of not just criminal conduct, for which there's no motive, but also cruelty. I'd think twice before I ascribe cruelty to anyone."

"There is a motive, though. He's kind of obsessed with that creepy tutor, who took over for you," Poe points out.

Luke shakes his head. "Is this what that fight was about on Friday?"

"Well, maybe," Finn admits. "Rey accused him, he didn't react so well—"

"Did he deny it?"

Finn glances at Poe. "Well, yeah."

"I don't think anyone would react well towards being accused of something so heinous." Luke sighs. "Poe, Finn, I appreciate your loyalty to Han, and to me. But you _cannot_ repeat these accusations to anyone. They're unfounded, and they're dangerous. Promise me that you won't."

"What if we get proof?" Poe suggests.

"No!" Luke drops the spatula and gapes at him. "Think about what you're saying. If you are right—which is very far-fetched—think about what kind of person you're dealing with in Snoke. Is that really the sort of man you want to cross?"

Poe crosses his arms and sets his jaw. _Maybe so._

Because Poe doesn't tolerate injustice. That's how his parents raised him.

"The two of you should just concentrate on being kids, and enjoying yourselves," Luke pleads. "Prom's coming up. Focus on that."

Poe scowls.


	11. Chapter 11

"No, Mom." Ben plugs his earphones into his ears, and she rolls her eyes and yanks them out. "Hey!"

She glares at him, hands clenched around the steering wheel. "Ben, for pity's sake, can't you listen to me for the five minutes it takes me to drive you to school?"

"Threepio can drive me. You don't have to bother."

"Ben! It's not a _bother_ at all." Mom breathes in, blows her breath out, all very controlled, all very unlike Ben. "I'm _scared_ for you."

"Don't be." _Please help me, please help me._

"And I think a therapist would help you—your father and I plan on seeing one—"

"I don't want to talk to some random stranger about my feelings," Ben sneers. _I want to talk to_ you.

But he can't. He'll never be able to explain to her what he did.

"But if you would just give it a try, just one session—"

"No."

"Then you won't be studying with Snoke anymore!" she barks. "Go to one session, and I'll let you continue."

 _This is a way out,_ Ben realizes.

Does he want to take it?

He plugs his earphones back in. "I'm not going." And because he can't let her win: "And I'm still going to go to Snoke's."

"Maybe I won't let you have your car back when it's fixed."

Ben turns up his music. It's an empty threat. He hopes. His heart pounds regardless. If he stops going to sessions with Snoke, he might fail. He'll be a failure _. I'm nothing without him._ And if he doesn't go, Snoke could reveal what Ben did. Given the theater building, Ben wouldn't put it past Snoke to figure out some way to make it seem like Ben had lit all the fires, alibi or not.

Snoke can drive him to lessons after school, and Ben can walk on weekends.

"When is Dad getting out of jail?" Ben asks to distract her. The pounding guitars and drums and screaming rage through his ears.

Mom's face pales as her fingers grip the steering wheel. "Hopefully later this week. The charges might stick, though."

Ben pinches his arm.

* * *

"What happened to your car?" jeers Hux as Ben walks by, head hung low.

"Knock it off," Rey says, slamming her locker shut.

"Shut up, little Jakku slut," Hux returns.

Rey rolls her eyes, even as she pretends she doesn't see Unkar where Hux stands. "A misogynist as well as a homophobe. Aren't you lucky, Phasma."

Phasma's face turns red. "He's not—"

Rey saunters by without listening. She does notice Ben smirk, though.

In English, as Mr. Nunb expounds on Raskolnikov and his inner despair about whether or not to confess, Rey gives Ben a not-so-subtle glare. He looks away from her, chewing his lip.

She also notices Snap Wexley and Poe putting their heads together and murmuring. Finn scowls, looking almost jealous.

During PE, which is spent running the hallways since the gymnasium's been burned and the athletic field is soaking in melting snow, Rey trips and falls onto the tiles, gasping as her knee smacks into a locker.

"Oops," Phasma says innocently.

"You okay?" Ben offers her a hand.

She grips it and lefts him pull her upright. "You didn't get out of PE on account of your stitches?"

"I like the exercise." He wears the same shirt he wears for every PE class: black and tight, it covers him from his neck down to his wrists. In spite of herself, Rey finds her eyes moving to his abs all of which are visible even through the shirt. _He's shredded._

 _He's a monster._

 _Can monsters be scared? Or kind?_

The bell rings and Rey pushes past him, heading to the bathrooms to change and make her way to lunch.

"She said yes!" whoops Snap as Rey sits down.

"Um, what?" Rey asks.

"Jess!" Snap grabs her hand and raises it high. Rey half expects to see a ring sparkling on Jess's finger and is relieved when she doesn't. "She's going to prom with me!"

Jess rolls her eyes. "He's pretty excited."

Poe crosses his arms and grins. "Told you she'd say yes."

"Oh." Finn sighs.

"I guess I shouldn't be shocked," taunts Hux as he carries a tray. "Although I must say that I truly thought Jessika here was a d—"

"That's it, Hux!" intervenes Mr. Ackbar as he closes in on their table. "To the office. With me. Now. What did I tell you about the next time I heard you using language like that?"

Hux's face is priceless. His lips quiver and rise in a snarl. His eyes bulge, and yet even he seems aware that he can't say anything.

"Good riddance," Poe says as Mr. Ackbar leads him away.

Hux reappears in class after lunch, arms folded across him and a scowl deep in his cheeks. He glowers at Poe especially. Phasma doesn't look any kinder.

 _Shit._

The hair on the back of Rey's neck stands up as she remembers Poe and Finn's story from the night they'd all met, with the knife. She knows it's probably irrational, but she ducks into the bathroom between chemistry—which is now solely boring lectures—and study hall.

When she hears the bell ring, Rey slips out and darts into the classroom.

"Late," moans Mr. Statura.

 _Like he cares._ Rey shakes her head and drops down in the chair next to Ben's. It's a change from yesterday, when she sat on the opposite end of the classroom.

He doesn't look at her.

"So," Rey says. "What's Phasma and Hux's big murder plan for me and the rest of us? You will warn me, right?"

Ben turns to her. "I'm not talking with Hux or Phasma. Not lately."

Rey leans against her hand. "Why were you ever friends with them?"

"Because… they like the same music as me. They find preppy kids annoying, too, because those kids are just trying to get everyone's favor regardless of what it costs them in terms of their potential. They—" Ben stops and shrugs.

Rey wrinkles her nose. "Aren't you trying to get everyone's favor _with_ your potential?"

He looks down at his black notebook. " _With_. It's more… honorable."

 _What is he, fucking Mr. Darcy?_ "How's your shoulder feeling, really?" Rey queries.

Ben snorts. "I can't decide whether you hate me or whether you care about me. Maybe you don't even know."

She doesn't. Rey twirls a tendril of hair around her finger. "I don't know," she admits. "Both, I guess."

"So regarding me, your mind is split. I'll just call you Raskolnikov, then."

"Does that make you Razhumikhin? Because frankly I think a name meaning 'reason' better suits me," Rey shoots back.

He narrows his eyes.

"So how _is_ your shoulder?"

He smiles, and it's the happiest Rey's ever seen him look. "It's honestly fine."

"And your arm?"

The happiness flees. He swallows. "Rey—"

"Look, I'll just come clean with you," Rey interrupted. "I went to see your mother last night. I asked her to get you into therapy, because you need it. Finn's been going, and it's helping him, or so he says."

Ben clenches his fists. "What _else_ did you tell her?"

"Nothing."

"Why not?" He traces the edges of his notebook, rubbing his fingertips against the sharp corners.

Rey shrugs. "I think you need help, Ben. And I guess—I mean, I guess I still—I'm still pissed at you. But I care about you. I don't want to see you so—I mean, you don't deserve to bleed."

He swallows, and when he speaks, his voice is husky. "Yes, I do."

"No," Rey says, gripping his left arm, her voice pleading. "You don't."

He blinks and studies his notebook. "You—you just need a chemistry tutor."

"Hey, I bested you on that exam!"

"You still need one, don't you?"

"Yeah," she admits. "You actually helped a lot. You, and Luke both."

Ben grins. "Come here." He pulls her notebook closer, and Rey listens to him.

When the bell rings, she smiles. "I'll text you."

"Really?" His eyes light up.

"Pictures of Artoo." She winks.

"You're just as bad as Poe."

Rey shrugs. "If you'd rather I didn't—"

He laughs. "No—please."

* * *

Ben watches her go.

 _You don't deserve to bleed._

She said that to him even _knowing_ what he's done to his father.

Pain is a part of growing, Snoke always says.

Maybe just not so much of it, Ben thinks as he stuffs his notebook away and heads towards his locker, and then for the office, where he'll do his homework until Snoke drives him to their lessons.

Ben pushes the office door open and halts when he hears an irate voice.

"I told you not to cause so many problems!"

A slim man, balding, sits next to Hux on the bench. He looks exactly as Ben pictures Hux will look in thirty years—face sunken, skin blotchy, eyes reddened from a perpetual scowl.

"All you do is create drama," Brendol Hux snarls at his son. "When I was your age, I was respectful. I was polite. I _listened_ to my elders!"

"Dad—"

"You're a disappointment. Nothing more."

Ben flinches. _You're a disappointment, nothing more_ —those are the phrases Ben's spent his entire life fleeing from. Those are the words he knows are true in regards to his own father's opinion of him, if only the truth were known.

"You!" Hux leaps to his feet, noticing Ben. "You prick!"

"I have a meeting with Snoke!"

"So do I!"

"Yes," sneers Brendol Hux. "Because you were foolish and are facing detention. _He's_ simply got a tutoring session."

Hux slinks back into his seat, face flaming. Ben takes a seat opposite the father and son, wishing he could make himself smaller. But that's never going to happen.

And he thinks he understands that Rey's joke earlier might not have been a joke. Hux glares at him, eyes glinting and jaw set so tight his chin trembles.

* * *

Luke picks Finn up from his therapy appointment with Finn still wrestling with himself. He doesn't understand why he felt such jealousy when he saw Poe and Snap so close together this morning, or why he felt so relieved when he found out Poe had just been encouraging Snap to ask Jessika to prom.

"Maybe it's just because I'm excited at the thought that somebody likes me," Finn has said to the therapist. To his knowledge, no one has before.

Or, there's the other possibility that he has feelings for Poe. Finn's always had minor crushes on girls, even on Rey, before. Never on a guy.

 _Maybe it's just me being selfish, wanting somebody's attention all to myself._

 _Why would that be selfish?_ his therapist countered.

 _Because... I'm not likeable?_

 _Why not?_

"Anything on Han?" Finn asks hopefully, to distract himself.

Luke groans. "Not yet. The prosecutor is determined to have someone to blame and is fighting the good fight to keep Han behind bars. He goes before a judge Friday afternoon, though."

Finn exhales. He feels Luke glance at him, but knows better than to bring up their theory again. Even if Finn's fairly certain it's not just a theory, and he suspects Luke might be more inclined to believe it than he let on.

Luke pulls into the driveway and Finn bounds into the house, Artoo following him into his room, where he ditches his backpack and shrugs out of Poe's jacket. Finn smiles to himself.

"Finn, can you give us a hand?" Rey calls from the kitchen.

Finn enters and Luke points to a cucumber, a container of cherry tomatoes, and a head of lettuce. "Can you make a salad?"

"We'll find out," Finn jokes. Rey snorts.

"So," Luke says. "Are either of you going to prom?"

"It's still weeks away," Rey says. "We'll see."

"You could go together," Luke suggests.

Rey and Finn glance at one other, both shuddering. "No," they both answer.

"I probably won't go," Rey admits. "That's not really my thing. Dancing, dressing up."

Luke shrugs as he lights the gas stove. "It's up to you."

"I might go," Finn announces, peeling the skin from cucumber. His heart beats faster as he pushes the words out of his mouth: "I might ask Poe."

"You should!" Rey exclaims, and Finn breathes deeply.

"He's a nice kid," Luke agrees.

"I like him," Finn says. "Like, maybe more than as a friend." He holds his breath.

"Cool," Luke says, and Finn meets his eyes. Luke grins at him, fully accepting.

"I bet he'd _love_ to go with you," Rey adds slyly as she chops an onion.

Finn tosses a green string of cucumber skin at her, and she shrieks and throws back a bit of onion. A cherry tomato smacks the back of Finn's neck, and Luke whistles and looks about as if to say _I don't know where that came from_.

" _Oh_ ," Rey teases. "You too, huh?" She throws another piece of onion.

"Wait, we still have to eat tonight!" Luke cries, even as he tosses two more tomatoes.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone for reading! Tomorrow will be a "breakthrough" chapter... for Ben, Rey, Finn, and Poe.**


	12. Chapter 12

"See you later!" Rey waves and hurries into the school in the morning.

Poe watches her go, stretching in the unexpectedly warm weather. The sun's shining, the snow's flooding, and it almost feels like spring. "She have to meet with a teacher or something?"

"Or something," Finn mutters. "Listen, Poe, can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course." Poe's heart lurches in his chest.

"Away from people?" Finn requests. "Like, let's go to the field."

"Sure." Poe bites his lip as all manner of possibilities storm his mind. "Is this about—Ben? Did Luke—"

"No." Finn sighs as they tromp across the slush. Poe winces as he remembers he isn't wearing waterproof boots.

 _Shit._

"It's about prom."

 _Shit._

Poe drags his hand through his hair as they pause in front of the bleachers. "Are you and Rey going together?" That's very big of Finn, wanting to warn him—

"No!" Finn throws his hands up in the air. "Why does everyone think that? No, Rey doesn't even _want_ to go."

"Oh." Poe frowns.

"I wanted to ask you if you wanted to go with me," Finn blurts out, speaking so fast the words tumble into one another.

"What?" Poe asks, telling himself he didn't just hear what he thought he heard.

Finn clears his throat, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Do _you_ want to go with me?"

 _This can't be happening._ Poe tries to laugh. "You don't have to do that, you know."

Finn's eyebrows swoop together. "Do what?"

Poe's not sure how much he believes what he's saying and how much he's hoping. "Ask me out of pity, or out of—"

Finn grabs him by the shoulders and kisses him, and Poe's not sure if he should be thrilled or numb.

"Oh my God," Poe says when Finn pulls away. "Are you for real right now?" He wants to pinch himself. _Did Finn really just kiss me?_

Finn nods. "I like you, Poe. I mean—I've never felt this way about a guy before, or really about a girl either—that was mostly minor, childish stuff—"

"Okay," Poe breathes, trying to absorb what Finn's saying, because he never really thought this would happen, but Finn's looking at him and _oh my God_. "Okay." The snow glistens in the sunlight, and the school, everything else around him, spins. He grabs Finn by the wrist and pulls him behind the bleachers, where he looks into Finn's eyes and sees sincerity radiating off of Finn, and isn't that exactly what Poe's been wanting but been afraid he could never have?

Poe wraps an arm around Finn and kisses him again, longer and slower than their first kiss, every moment reminding him that _this is real_. "I really never thought this would happen," he admits. "I thought—I thought only in my head—"

Finn leans in again. The bell screeches in the distance.

"Oh my God," Poe says again as Finn takes his hand. "This is real."

"Yeah," Finn confirms, grinning. "It is." He chortles. "So about prom…"

"It's a hell yes." Poe swallows as they trudge back towards the building. "But, Finn, you've got to know—people like Hux—"

"Screw all those losers," Finn replies.

* * *

"You're in an awfully good mood," Ben comments as Rey enters study hall grinning. "I don't think that smile's come off your face all day."

"Why, does it look bad?" She tosses her bag down.

"No, you look… nice. Happy. That's nice." He glances away, and then back at her. "Did Finn ask you to prom or something?"

"Oh, for heaven's sake," Rey complains. "No. Finn is like my brother. No, actually—it's—can you keep a secret?" _I'm already aware that you can,_ she thinks.

He nods.

"Especially from your Nazi of a friend?"

"He's not my friend. Anymore."

"Good." Rey giggles. "Finn and Poe started dating today. _Finally_."

"Wow." Ben leads back, nodding as he absorbs the information. "They'll be a cute couple."

"You know what's not a cute couple? All of these bonds." Rey yanks out her chemistry notebook. "I heard your dad might be getting out tomorrow."

"That's the hope." He presses against his arm again, and Rey shakes her head.

" _Ben."_

"Let's study," he says, reaching for her notebook and flipping it open, taking in her neat scrawl in blue sparkling gel pen. But even as he tries to teach her, tries to help, Rey sees his fingers twitching, tapping each other, the way he digs his forearm into the edge of the desk.

"Rey?" he finally asks.

"Yeah?"

"I don't have tutoring on Wednesdays. Can we—can we talk after school? Maybe Poe or Luke can pick us up later, or—"

For a moment Rey thinks he's asking her out, but the crazed darting about of his eyes tells her that's not the case. "Okay."

 _Don't trust him. What if he's setting you up?_

 _He wouldn't,_ she realizes.

After the final bell, Rey tells Poe and Finn to leave without her.

"Rey, seriously, we don't mind you third-wheeling," Poe tells her.

Rey shrugs into her jacket. "No, Ben and I are going to talk."

"Is that safe?" Finn ventures.

"He's not a murderer, Finn." She looks to Poe. "I might need a ride later. If I do, can I text you?"

"Of course. I do work, though."

"That's right. Don't worry about it. I'll call Luke." She smiles at both of them as she heads off towards Ben's locker, where he waits for her.

"Both of your friends look like they're going to shoot me," Ben remarks.

"Consider that your ' _don't try anything'_ warning," Rey jokes. "Where are we going?"

"Have you ever been to the old theater building?"

"The one that burned down?"

Ben sighs. "Yeah."

"No."

"It's behind the field." Ben leads her outside, past the bleachers and into the woods, across a path made more of puddles and sticks than snow. "In here."

"How very dramatic," Rey comments as they head down a slight slope. A charred building sits just outside the line of the trees, mostly all foundation now. A few slabs of blackened wood, splintered and weak and wet now, stand up from the cement.

The foundation's damp, but Ben takes a seat anyways, and Rey copies him, waiting in silence. The trees drip steadily as the ice thaws.

"You're right," Ben admits.

"What?"

"You're right," he says, hunching over and burying his face in his fists. "About what I did to my father."

Vomit surges up Rey's throat. _Stay calm. Stay calm._ "I know," she ekes out. But somehow, hearing him say it aloud—it's so much worse. It's final.

The tree branches rattle against each other in the breeze. "Do you hate me?"

"I should." Rey sighs. "I don't."

He looks at her, eyes reddened. "I don't know what to do, Rey. I'm being torn apart. I just—I want to be free of this pain, and I don't know what to do. It's like it's too late, I've gone too far, I can't go back now even if I wanted to."

"What happened?" Rey asks, the damp cement seeping through her pants. "Why did you do it?"

"I don't know."

" _Try."_

"We've never been close," he mutters. "Dad's always been so busy, with work… and he doesn't understand me, or the pressure. Ever since I was identified as… you know, gifted, like you, I've felt so much pressure. He and Mom are always fighting, and I—I just—Snoke's been there for me. Luke tried to be, but he made things worse because he tried to give me trite answers, and he didn't really support me in all I wanted to do. Snoke did. Snoke _does_. He knows what I want, and he thinks it's achievable, and more. Snoke has all these great ideas, Rey—and—" Ben shakes his head. "He's _been there_ for me."

"But he's used you, too," Rey points out, anger simmering inside her. "Hasn't he?"

"At least he doesn't think I'm use _less_. Luke did, once. Sort of. He warned me that my talents would be useless if I couldn't control myself… and I can't. I never could."

"That's not calling you useless," Rey points out. _Luke wouldn't have said that._ "Not exactly. Don't you think you're projecting what you think about yourself onto what he said?" She tries to water down what her foster father supposedly said. She doesn't want him to have used that word, the same word Unkar Plutt used on her once.

Ben clenches his fists. "He still said it."

 _Luke did say that,_ Rey knows. And she somehow knows he would never say such a thing to her, or Finn. Or Ben again, probably. _Please_.

"Snoke told me I was special. That it was okay I couldn't stay still or was bored in class… That I could help him. That I could help the entire school district." Ben wipes at his eyes, waves his arm at the shell of a building. "This building, Rey? I burned it down. That was me."

 _No._ Rey doesn't want him to be responsible for the actual fires. "Okay."

"It was an accident. Firecrackers over the summer. I wasn't thinking—I didn't bring water to put it out, and we just ran for our lives. Snoke figured it out when he found the firecrackers I left in my car, I guess. He lit the other two fires. I didn't know about the gym one until after—I didn't know he even know what I'd done to this place until then." Ben draws in a shuddering breath. "He wanted to discredit Luke. And when he found our Dad was considering stopping our lessons, he told me to—to put that canister in his car last week. And I did."

Rey's rage ignites. "You don't really think Snoke had you do that just to keep you with him, do you? You know it was primarily about him, don't you? Him succeeding. You're a _tool_ to him, Ben, something he can use—and if you're no longer necessary, when he gets all that he wants from you, he'll crush you!" _You're a tool to him, and you're so much for than that, you're so much more than that to me, you're meant to be so much more than this._ "You're not useless, and you're not supposed to be used, either."

Ben stares at her, tears running down his face.

"You're not supposed to be somebody's tool," Rey says, her voice cracking.

"What can I do, though?" he pleads. "I don't know how to face my father. I don't know—once it—if it gets out what I've done, no one will—my mother's career, my father's—they'll both be ruined anyways." He moves to punch himself in the arm, to punch the wood, and can't land either blow. It's as if the drive leaves him mid-swing.

Rey rifles through her backpack. "I have an idea."

"What?" He looks hopeful.

She pulls out her English notebook and read the quote from _Crime and Punishment_ that she has to write an essay on: "'Go at once, this very minute, stand at the cross-roads, bow down, kiss the earth which you have defiled, and then bow down to all the world and say to men aloud, "I am a murderer!' Then God will send you life again. Will you go, will you go?'" Rey tries to smile. "Well, you're not a murderer. A frame… er. A framer." She frowns. "Is that a thing?"

Ben snorts. "So... I should confess."

"Do you think you'll be happy unless you do?"

Ben bites his lip. "But if my dad gets out tomorrow anyways—if the charges don't stick, or hold up—do I have to?"

Rey shrugs, a chill sweeping over her. "It might make you feel better."

He doubles over. "I've ruined my life."

"Don't say that." She reaches out and catches his right shoulder. "You have a lot more life to live, Ben Solo."

He might be imposingly taller than her, but he drops his head to her shoulder, and though Rey's never been much of a hugger, she wraps her arms around him. Her own cheeks feel wet, and she realizes she's crying. For him.

"Are you okay?" He pulls away as Rey tries to muffle a sob.

"I guess." Rey waves her hand. "It's just that… I'm so angry. I'm so mad. At Snoke. It's like Unkar… it's like my mother, manipulating me into thinking I needed her, that she was coming back… and she wasn't. Snoke's been manipulating you, too, and I just—it's so fucking _wrong_."

"You didn't let yourself hurt others, though," Ben whispers. "Betray…"

Rey gives him a sad smile. "How do you know? I get really angry, Ben—a lot. At first it was to defend myself, back in Jakku, because you either were picked on or stood up for yourself with your fists. And I always thought I'd use it on Unkar, but I never really did—and I kicked _you_ , and I don't want to be so _angry_ anymore, Ben."

"You're right to be angry, though. What your mother did—that wasn't right." Ben's hand cups her around the back of her neck. "What I did wasn't right."

"I still shouldn't have kicked you." His face is so close to hers. Rey can make out every mole, the way his eyeliner is uneven on his lids. She feels him scouring her face, too, taking in—taking in what?

 _I'm no one special._

But he's looking at her like she's someone very special, and Rey swallows. "Are you going to kiss me?"

"Can I?"

"Uh-huh," she murmurs, and his lips close over hers. Rey's never had anyone she wanted to kiss her actually kiss her before—there was that boy in ninth grade who shoved her against the wall to kiss her before running off, but she's not sure he counts. She opens her mouth, letting him in. He lets her in, and she's tasting him and letting him taste her.

He's not a monster, and he never has been.

His hands are on her back, roving up and down. Rey's hands trace his head, digging through his hair. An image flashes through her mind, of Claire and Bender from _The Breakfast Club_ and the scene in the closet, and she pulls away, gasping. _Can I? Should I?_

 _Why not?_

"What are you—?" Ben pants.

"Hold on." She grins as she leans closer again, closing her lips over his lower one and then trailing kisses down his neck. She hears him inhale as she kisses him on the nape of his neck, more intensely than she'd kissed his lips. She takes his skin in her mouth and he moans, because this is the kind of pain that isn't really pain at all. His fingers rove through her hair, loosening it from the buns she ties it up in every morning.

"I don't know why I did that," she says as she pulls away from his neck, leaving a red mark.

"I liked it." He grins and sighs. "I don't know if I can tell them." She rests her forehead against his. "Not tonight. Not before he comes home. I don't know. I mean, I know I have to, but—"

"You will, though."

He nods. "I will." And he leans forward to sink into her lips again.

When they pull apart, breathing heavily, Rey takes his hand. "Ben, I'm cold. Can we go back?"

Ben chuckles. "Yeah."

He wraps an arm around her as they traipse back through the woods. Rey pulls out her phone to text Luke and ask for him to pick her and Ben up.

As they loiter in the parking lot, Rey spots Hux leaving the building. Hux's eyes narrow when he notices her and Ben's intertwined hands.

"Get in, boy!" thunders a man Rey assumes must be Hux's father.

Hux scowls and ducks inside a silver SUV.

When Luke's car pulls in, it's not Luke in the driver's seat, but Finn. Luke's in the passenger.

" _The hell?"_ Finn mouths to Rey, who still grips Ben's hands even though Ben squirms. Luke just looks amused.

"I'm not ashamed of you," she whispers in Ben's ear as she opens the car door.

Ben smiles. "Don't kill them all, Finn."

"My driving record's better than yours," Finn retorts.

Rey looks at her foster father and remembers Ben's words. But Luke's smiling at her, trusting her, and she caves. She trusts him.

Mostly.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben can hardly stomach the quiche Threepio bought for dinner. He can't speak. Not to his mother.

"Ben," she starts, and Ben's stomach clenches. "I was thinking… about your father's hearing on Friday. If you want to take school off, just for part of the day, I'm sure your dad would appreciate—"

Ben grips his arm, feels his wounds burn, and lets it go. He doesn't want to hurt himself. He remembers Rey kissing him, feels her lips against his neck. But this—this is something he surely cannot face. "I don't want to."

"But Ben—"

"I can't! I don't want to see him! Not like—like that!" Ben leaps up from the table.

Mom's lips press in a thin line. "Fine."

Ben pushes his plate away. "I'm done."

"Fine." She sets her fork down with a clink, and Ben wants to scream at her to stop saying _fine, fine, stop pretending everything's fine_ , can't she see he's bleeding under his shirt?

"I have to go back to the office," she says. "Chewie's meeting me there."

"Fine," Ben sneers, stomping towards the stairs.

"I don't understand you!" Mom cries out, and Ben freezes, his back to her, wanting her words to be vicious, to tear him down, wanting them to rescue him.

She's _followed_ him. She's actually followed him to the stairway. "You cared so much last week! I saw you screaming when they arrested him—and now it's like you don't care at all? You were angry we were separated, and now you're angry we're getting back together? I don't understand, Ben."

Ben's chest is so tight he wonders why his ribs don't crack. "It doesn't matter."

" _Fine_." She sighs, and Ben lifts his leg, ascends one more stair, and then stops.

"Mom." He turns around, heart thumping, flexing his hand as if he were holding someone else's, as if he were holding Rey's.

She looks at him, her eyes watering.

"I think I need to see a therapist," he admits, because he still wants to hurt himself. Even know Rey's there for him. It's not fixing him.

 _You need help._

"You do?" Mom raises her eyebrows, as if expecting another blow of sarcasm. Threepio cleans the plates away, and Ben hesitates.

He descends the stairs and walks over to her, pulling up his right sleeve. He doesn't speak.

She gasps. Her fingers, soft, touch his arm, the puncture wound that still throbs, the scrapes and cuts and scars, and Ben starts to cry.

"I really need help," he begs.

The dishes stop clanking. Threepio's listening. Ben doesn't care. _This is the best of the worst things you're going to learn about me,_ he thinks. _Probably._

"Oh, Ben." Mom's voice isn't disappointed, isn't angry. She pulls him closer and wraps him in a hug. "How long?"

"Years," Ben sobs. "But it's been getting worse. I can't stop. I can't stop. I want to, but I can't."

"Come here." She pulls him into the living room, sits him down on the couch and places both of her hand against his face. "I will get you help, Ben. I promise you. I'm not going to let you face this alone. You don't have to face this alone."

 _I'm always alone_.

Not anymore. He has Rey. He might have his mother.

 _For now._ His other secret writhes inside his chest. "I'm sorry. I'm—I don't mean to be such a screw-up, I know I am—"

"You are _not!"_ Mom insists. "You're—" She gulps. "If anything, it's me who's screwed up. How could I not know you were in so much pain?"

"Please help me," he begs, pressing his face into the couch so he doesn't have to look at her. "Please promise me you'll help me. No matter what." Desperation seeps through. He's tired of holding it back.

"I _promise_. Ben, I love you." She kisses his forehead, and there's something not right about it— _if you only know, if only you knew_ —but Ben craves it just the same.

"Aren't you supposed to meet Chewie?" he asks.

"Threepio!" Mom calls. "Can you call Chewie and cancel our meeting? No, Ben, I'm not. You're more important. I've spent so many— _too_ many—damn years prioritizing the wrong things." She pulls his face out of the leather and turns him to face her. "You—you're what really matters. You, and your father. My job is nothing unless you're both okay."

Ben sobs, because he doesn't know whether that's ever possible anymore, and yet it's exactly what he's always wanted to hear.

* * *

"More snow tomorrow night?" Poe complains as he turns off the radio. "I can't listen to these predictions of doom. You've got to be kidding me! It's been so warm."

"God hates us," Finn grumbles, and Poe squeezes his hand.

"Maybe we'll get a snowy prom," Rey muses.

"I thought you were content not to go," Finn says.

"I'm _not_ going." Rey sighs. "I'll just, you know, help you both pick our suits or whatever. Make sure they match."

Poe snorts.

"I'm really happy for both of you," Rey says.

"We know." Finn tosses her a saucy smirk.

Poe pulls into the school parking lot and sees Ms. Organa dropping off her pathetic son. "Poor woman," he says.

"Do you think he'd ever do anything to her?" Finn asks. "I mean, you've got to wonder—"

"He wouldn't," Rey insists.

"That sounded pretty confident," Poe says. "Do you think you were _wrong_ after all, Rey?"

"No." Rey opens the car door. "I'm not wrong. I just—it's not our business." She speed-walks into the school.

"Well, I disagree," Poe mutters.

"What can we do, though? Luke did kinda hand it to us," Finn says. "I'm not sure I want to cross him. I kinda—he's the first adult I feel like I can trust in a long time, Poe."

"I know." Poe would never ask that of Finn, and besides, he isn't a crime investigator. "I just wish—I wish there was some way to make it right."

"If Han gets out tomorrow, maybe that will fix things?"

"His career's still kind of ruined," Poe points out. "The most we could really do is tip off Officer Calrissian."

"And without proof, he'd probably react the same way Luke did," Finn finishes gloomily.

"Probably," Poe agrees. "I'm not ruling it out, though." _Morally, am I obligated to?_

* * *

"I showed my mother my arm," Ben says to Rey when he sees her, without any other greeting. "I asked… to see a therapist."

"Really?" Her cheeks turn pink and Ben notices her freckles, faded in the winter, popping more vividly. "I'm proud of you."

He rolls his eyes even as his fingers rub the pleasantly sore mark she left on the nape of his neck, just under his shirt. "About yesterday…"

"I don't regret anything," she states. "Why? Do you?"

He shakes his head. "I _really_ like you, Rey."

A grin spread across her face. "I like you too, Ben."

He clears his throat. "I'm about to go tell Snoke I can't come to a lesson today. Mom booked me an appointment with a counselor."

Her gaze focuses on his arm, where the bruises are starting to fade, not that she can see. "Are you sure that's safe?"

"We're in a school, so yes." He manages a half-smile. "I'll catch up with you in first period, okay?"

"Okay," she agrees and glances around to make sure no one they know is around. She stands on tip-toe, and Ben sinks to let her peck him on the lips.

 _I shouldn't,_ he thinks as she walks away. If only he hadn't listened to Snoke, if only he didn't carry about the burden of what he's done… he could be free, free to ask Rey to the prom, free to date her.

But he's not.

With a sigh, Ben heads into the office.

"Mr. Solo," the secretary greets him. "Are you here to see Mr. Snoke?"

He nods.

"Come in, Ben," Snoke's voice intones.

He enters and stands. He won't sit down. Snoke remains seated, so Ben's taller than him for now, and he thinks he might need that bit of confidence. "I came to tell you I can't make it this afternoon."

"What?" Snoke's eyes widen, and he slams the attendance book shut. "Why not?"

"I have a therapy appointment. My mom wants me to go." _No, shit, dammit,_ there he goes again, tempering everything by blaming it on someone else.

"Why can't you flout her wishes?"

He grips his arm. _Take it off, take your hand away_ —but he can't. His fingers press and press. "I want to go, too."

"Come after, then. Surely your appointment can't be longer than an hour."

"I don't think I can."

"Why?" Snoke rises, and Ben shrinks before him. "Is it because you're meeting that foster girl from Jakku?"

"No!" At the mention of Rey, Ben pries his left hand away from his arm and traces his neck instead.

"Hux told me about seeing you two yesterday. I don't understand what's gotten into you, Ben. You cannot afford to be distracted now, when college applications are so close."

"Hux told you?"

"Surely you didn't think you were the only student I mentor, did you?" Snoke snaps. "On Wednesday nights, I've begun meeting with Hux. The boy doesn't possess near your levels of intelligence, and has a detention under his belt—although you have a suspension—and he's adequate enough."

That's exactly what Ben had thought, though. _Am I that much of a narcissist_?

 _You aren't special to Snoke, after all._

"Be careful, Ben Solo," Snoke warns him, rounding the desk. "You don't want to be getting distracted now, do I make myself clear? Not after all we've been through together."

 _Is he threatening me?_ "I don't care about that," Ben manages. "Our—our sessions are _done_ , Snoke."

"No," Snoke disagrees. "They aren't." He crosses the gap between them before Ben can even take a step towards the door.

"Yes," Ben snarls back at him. " _They are."_

 _You never cared about me. You_ used _me._

"Not unless you want to spend the next few years in prison for arson. I have worked _too damn hard_ to let you ruin this for me," Snoke growls, grabbing Ben by his right forearm, squeezing. Ben gasps.

 _Snoke's afraid I'm going to turn him in. He needs me under his thumb._ Snoke doesn't want to help him. He wants to control him.

"And," Snoke continues, a devilish, twisted scowl opening on his face. "Old habits die hard, Ben." He motions to Ben's neck. "You might want to make sure your neckline doesn't keep slipping down."

"Let me go," Ben hisses as he yanks the hem of his shirt back over the hickey. He wants to scream, but he's terrified.

Snoke squeezes Ben's upper arm, right over the old bruises, with such force Ben has to bite his lip.

"Keep in mind," Snoke says. "That I have more power in this school—in this town—than you can possibly know. I'd get my head together, Ben Solo, and start _concentrating_ and ridding my life of distractions, if I were you."

 _It's never going to end,_ Ben realizes as he looks up at Snoke. _He's going to keep forcing me to do things for him. The only way it'll end is if I confess._

But he doesn't even have proof. It'd just be his word. Knowing Snoke, the man's covered his tracks well.

"For the sake of your girlfriend, I'd dump her," Snoke informs him. _"Soon."_

* * *

"Well?" Rey mutters as Ben slips into their calculus class and takes a seat next to her instead of next to Hux. The redhead scowls. So does Finn.

Ben shakes his head slightly. "Not good. Tell you later."

Rey tries to focus on the lesson. Whoever scheduled calculus first period on Mondays and Thursdays should be shot.

The rest of the morning, Ben sits back with Hux and Phasma, casting Rey a pleading glance.

"What the hell?" Poe mumbles to her.

At lunch, Rey scarfs down her sandwich with peanut butter and raspberry jelly and tells her friends she has to meet with Mr. Ackbar. Judging by the skeptical way Poe raises his eyebrows, they aren't buying it.

Rey jogs out onto the athletic field, behind the bleachers, where Ben said to meet him. "Hey!"

He turns to her, a boy, not quite a man, clad all in black, and smiles. "Hey?"

She presses her lips against his and he laughs. "I have to talk to you—"

"I figured this is what's supposed to happen behind the bleachers," Rey teases.

Ben's fingers trace her hair, her ears. "Snoke's pissed, Rey. He said—he threatened to do more. If I don't continue our lessons, if I don't do exactly as he says, no doubt."

A gust of wind rifles through her hair, digging under her clothes. _"Why?"_

Ben shakes his head. "Because I've been his puppet for so long?"

"What could he even do?"

"Make things worse for my dad. And my mom. And me." Ben looks at her. "Rey, I've got no proof he did _anything_. All they've got is my word, and that's not enough. He's—he covered his tracks pretty well, I'm sure. For all his talk about how smart I am, he played me like a fool." He sniffs. "I am a fool."

"So…" Rey doesn't know what to say and drops the sentence.

"I don't know what to do, Rey." He looks like he wants to say more, a lot more, but he doesn't.

"We can figure it out," Rey says, taking his hand and rubbing it between her own. "Together." And Rey realizes what he wanted to say. "Did Snoke threaten me?"

Ben nods. "I can't let anything—no one else should suffer because of me. Especially not you."

 _Don't leave me! Come back!_

It'd be smart. But Rey wants to come back for him. "We can still figure it out," Rey insists. _Come back to me, Ben. Don't work for that skunk anymore._

His thumbs rest against her cheekbones. "I don't want to—who knows what Snoke is capable of?"

" _Snoke,"_ Rey snarls. "Has no idea what _we're_ capable of." She glares at him, the sun glinting off the bleachers and the remains of the snow. "We're two fucking geniuses, Ben. We can—we've _got_ to be able to figure this out."

He nods. He's actually _nodding_. Rey's heart lifts. "Okay. We can try."

And he kisses her again, and when they both show up to computer science with swollen lips, Finn can only shake his head.


	14. Chapter 14

"Dad?" Poe asks that evening, after he arrives home from his internship. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing." His father sets the newspaper down, and Poe tries not to let the title suck in his gaze: WILL MAYOR BE ABLE TO GET HUSBAND OFF FOR SCHOOL ARSONS? "I can't believe I used to write for this maniac."

Beebee-Ate leaps onto Poe's lap, and Poe cuddles the cat to his chest. "What if you knew someone had done something bad—like—" He wracks his mind. "—like cheated on a test, an important test like the SATs or something, but there was no real way to prove it? Would you tell?"

"Someone cheated on their SATs?"

Poe groans. "No. It's just an example."

Dad cocks his head, frowning as he studies his son. "It entirely depends on the situation, son. Unless you're willing to tell me, I can't really comment."

Poe runs his hands over Beebee-Ate's soft fur.

Dad sighs. "I'd say that you'd have to accept two facts that, unfortunately, most teenagers are unable to grasp. One, people are going to cheat and get ahead. Life isn't fair like that, and you'll have to learn when you should make it your business and when you shouldn't. Two, not everything is black and white, light and dark, good and bad. Maybe a kid who cheats on the SATs is under a ton of pressure."

Poe blows his breath out. _Not super helpful._

 _Isn't Ben under pressure, though?_

"That being said," Dad continues as Poe plants a kiss on Beebee-Ate's head. "If you can't prove it, the most you could do is confront that person."

 _Proof._

Poe hates proofs. In geometry, and math. And now, apparently in real life.

But he has an idea and texts Finn a picture of Beebee-Ate rolling on his back on Poe's lap with the caption " _Eureka!"_

 _You're both cute,_ Finn responds, and Poe grins at his boldness.

 _I have an idea,_ Poe texts. _For how we can prove Han didn't do it._

 _How? U know he and Rey are hooking up. That makes me wonder whether he's even guilty._

 _We can get him to confess, and then record him_. Poe stares at his phone, waiting for Finn's response. He hopes Finn doesn't lash out at him, tell him it's a stupid idea, that he should just let it go. Because Poe can't let it go.

 _How on earth are we gonna do that?_

 _Working on it._

* * *

Finn watches as Rey texts someone in the morning. Just like she was texting all last night. Finn's fairly certain he knows exactly who's on the receiving end of her messages, and it doesn't make any sense. Why would Rey make out with Ben Solo unless she knew he was innocent? And if she did, why wouldn't she just say so?

People are like families, Finn decides. Way more complicated than he originally thought.

 _She's not going to like it if you and Poe go through with this._

Finn swallows. Poe's horn blares from outside.

"Have a good day!" Luke calls. "Snow's not starting until late tonight, so if you two decide to go somewhere after school, just text."

"Will do." Finn smiles.

"How's it going?" Poe greets them.

"Good," Rey says cheerily.

"Okay, Rey, I've just got to say it," Poe declares. "I don't like whatever's going on between you and Ben."

"I didn't ask your permission," Rey retorts, but her eyes narrow and Finn's stomach pinches.

"Rey, we're just worried about you because you're our friend," Finn tries.

"And you're both _my_ friends," Rey pleads. "Can't you trust me a little? Ben and I—Ben—things aren't exactly what they seem. Can you cut me and him some slack for just a little bit longer?" Her voice cracks.

"Aw, shit," Poe says.

"Of course, Rey," Finn agrees. "I don't mean to make you upset—it's just—when we think about Han—"

"Han matters to me, too." Rey meets Finn's gaze, her hazel eyes unwavering. "Maybe Ben's not the one you should be angriest at, though."

"Snoke?" Finn ventures.

Rey bites her lip. She won't answer, but that's answer enough. Her hands grip her upper left arm, and Finn's mind travels back to Saturday night, when they came across Ben's car wreck, when Rey bandaged his arm.

 _Those bruises._

Finn claps his hand over his mouth.

"Okay," Poe says. "I'll trust you. I just—sorry."

"It's okay," Rey assures him.

 _Is it?_ Finn wonders.

During lunch, Rey slips away, and Finn and Poe head off towards the bleachers again. The sky broils above, bloated and gray and angry. Finn almost expects to find Rey and Ben necking each other, but they're not there.

"Poe," Finn admits. "I don't know that this is such a great idea."

"Me either," Poe says. "I mean—I can't let injustice—I mean, Han—" He blows out his breath. "But Snoke is scary, man."

"And Ben's just a kid, like us," Finn says. "Do you remember those bruises? On Ben's arm, the ones he said were from the crash?"

"Yeah."

"What if they weren't?" Finn reaches his hand out and grabs Poe's arm, pressing carefully so that Poe can visualize the splaying of his fingers with the bruises.

" _Shit_." Poe drags his hand through his hair. "What can we do?"

"No proof," Finn mutters, kicking at a stray rock that'll soon be buried under two feet of snow, if the predictions hold.

Poe grips Finn's other arm. "We're going to have to stay under the radar from Snoke, then. I can tell you he already doesn't like you, or me. We're too close to Luke, to the mayor."

"Yeah." Finn nods and moves his hand from Poe's arm to the back of Poe's neck, and then Poe's exploring his mouth with his own.

"I'm sorry," Poe says as he breaks apart. "I just—I feel this intense need to do everything right, you know? To fix things, make things right."

"I'm okay with that," Finn says. Because he is. Poe isn't perfect, but Poe likes him and wants him, and Finn likes Poe and wants him too, and Finn knows that Poe's heart is _good_ under his skin. _Maybe_ , Finn thinks. _Maybe mine is, too._

"Would you look at that?" interrupts a sinister voice.

* * *

"Where are they going?" Rey gasps as she and Ben huddle behind a tree, her arms wrapped around his neck as they watch Hux, Phasma, Mitaka, and Nines march across the field. Their raucous laughter interrupted their make-out session, and Rey's annoyed.

"Presumably behind the bleachers."

"For what, an orgy?" Rey interlaces her fingers with Ben's, listening to the silence, until she hears Hux crow in an all-too-happy voice.

And Finn shouts something she can't distinguish, but she knows it's him. "Finn!" Rey yelps, tearing her hand out of Ben's and racing across the field. " _Poe!"_ She can't see Poe, but she knows he has to be there.

Phasma taunts them. Something about not being able to escape in a car this time.

Hux yells his homophobic slur again as Rey draws close. She spots Phasma holding Poe with his arm twisted behind his back as if threatening to break it, and Nines kicking Finn.

"Wait until the school sees these!" yells Mitaka, holding his phone high. On the screen, Rey makes out what looks like photos of Finn and Poe making out.

Rey charges right for him and tears the phone out of his hand, smashing it on the bleachers. Glass splinters.

"You bitch!" Mitaka shouts, whirling on her, but Rey ducks his blow and kicks him square in the chest.

"Let him go, Phasma!" Ben rushes at her.

"Traitor!" Phasma yells at him.

Ben grabs her by the shoulders, trying to wrestle her away from Poe. "I said _let him go!"_

Poe slams the back of his head into Phasma's jaw. Her teeth clack together loud enough for Rey to hear it.

Rey lunges for Nines, shoving him. He grabs her by the neck and throws her to the ground.

"Leave her alone!" Finn scrambles to his knees, throwing his arms around Nines's legs and dragging him to the ground. Nines rolls on top of Finn, punching him in the face.

Rey tries to lunge for him, but Mitaka digs his fingers into her scalp, yanking her by the hair. She screams as he shoves her head into the dirt.

 _Concentrate._ Rey closes her eyes, trying to remember all the fights she was in in Jakku. She throws her legs around Mitaka's waist, hurling him to the ground and leaping upright herself to see Phasma decking Ben in the chin. Poe grabs the girl by her shirt, trying to drag her away from Ben.

Hux is nowhere to be found.

 _Coward._ Rey throws herself at Nines, kicking him off of Finn.

Stronger arms wrap around her. Rey flails, but to no avail.

" _Stop fighting me!"_ bellows Mr. Statura as he hauls her onto the bleachers. Rey gasps as she watches Mr. Ematt jumping between Phasma and Ben, Mr. Ackbar grabbing Poe by the elbow and dragging him away. Nines backs away from Finn, his hands raised as if under arrest.

" _Oh my God!"_ shrieks Jess. Rey turns to see her and Snap and about half the school racing towards them.

"Look!" Hux shrieks, crawling out from under the bleachers. "I still have pictures of the two—"

Mr. Ackbar snatches the phone. "Now you don't!"

Behind the mob, Rey spots Snoke striding towards them.

"We're dead," Poe says to her.

* * *

"What do you think it will be this time?" Rey wonders aloud as she, Ben, Poe, and Finn squeeze onto one bench. Hux, Phasma, Nines, and Mitaka sit opposite them.

"Not a _one day_ suspension," Finn predicts. Mr. Ackbar, Mr. Ematt, and Mr. Statura are all in with Snoke, hopefully arguing in favor of mercy.

Rey takes Ben's hand and watches Hux's nostrils flare. She doesn't care.

The door opens. The teachers exit. "All of you, stand up," Snoke directs. "Teachers, if you please."

Scowling, all the teachers make to move the now-empty benches into Snoke's office.

"Your parents—or _guardians_ —have all been called," Snoke informs them. "Each one of them is on their way. I daresay, Ben Solo, your mother might miss an important hearing this afternoon, won't she?"

Rey squeezes Ben's hand as he flinches.

"When they get here," Snoke continues. "I will talk to all of your parents together and explain the situation. Then I will see all of you in together. And if I hear any talking, or if my secretary hears any talking, none of you will ever darken my school again, do you understand me?"

"Mr. Snoke—" Hux tries.

" _That includes you!"_

Hux snaps his mouth shut, beady eyes narrowing on Ben.

"Until then, Mr. Statura has agreed to watch all of you in his classroom. Go." Snoke waves his hand.

"Do you think he had any idea how exhausting this job would be when he wanted it so badly?" Poe whispers behind them as they troop into the hall.

"Quiet, Dameron!" snaps Mr. Statura. "Don't make me report you."

Jess passes them in the hallway, mouthing _good luck._

 _Thanks,_ Rey mouths back. She would text, but Snoke's confiscated all of their phones.

Mitaka titters as he sees Finn take Poe's hand, and Rey sees it happening before Poe turns around.

"Yeah, that's right!" Poe says, raising their intertwined hands high. "Finn and I are dating. Deal with it, homophobes!"

Mr. Statura windmills his arms. " _Quiet!"_ But at the same time, he looks at Finn and Poe with a distinct smile.

Hux knots his brow together in rage.

Rey leans against Ben's shoulder as the minutes tick by. There's nothing else she can do except feel him breathe.

After a full forty minutes, Mr. Statura's phone rings. "No talking in the hall, and I mean that!" he threatens as he marches them back towards the office.

Rey wonders what Luke thinks. Did Snoke portray it fairly? _How angry is Luke?_ She curls her fists, feeling the swelling in her knuckles. Will he understand that she was just trying to defend her friends?


	15. Chapter 15

"Sit by your parents," Snoke directs. The burgundy curtains are drawn, making the room look as if it's drowning in wine. Finn spots Luke sitting in a chair. He and Rey take the chairs on either side of Luke. Ben sits next to Leia on the bench, who sits next to Mr. Dameron. Poe casts his father a cringing look.

The other parents sit on the opposite side of the room, as if it's a courtroom. Finn finally dares to look into Luke's face. His foster father clenches his jaw. Rey hangs her head.

"Your parents, collectively," Snoke begins. "All want to hear from you what happened. Mr. Hux, I suggest you start."

"I was just sick of them getting away with breaking the rules, all the time. Everyone respects them," Hux complains. "Without noticing that they're sneaking around behind everyone's back. Especially the geniuses."

 _Are you serious? You sound like a five year old right now,_ Finn thinks, his jaw slackening.

"What do you mean by that?" demands a man with fading red hair to Hux's left. "Explain more, boy."

 _Yikes._ At least Finn doesn't think Luke will ever speak to him like that. Hux's dad reminds Finn of a succession of foster fathers he's had, all of whom hated him.

"Yesterday Ben and Rey were making out behind the bleachers!" Hux accuses.

 _He's emotionally a five year old,_ Finn officially decides. He watches as Rey leans forward so that she doesn't have to look Luke in the eyes. Ben glances at his astonished mother, his face flushing.

"Yeah, like no one else has ever done that," Poe scoffs.

"Public displays of affection _are_ against the rules," Snoke drawls. "I believe that's the second complaint I've heard about you two this week, isn't it, Miss Kenobi, Mr. Solo? The first being, of course, when Mr. Solo so proudly flaunted that mark you gave him on his neck."

"That's not—" Ben starts, but Snoke holds up a hand. Rey's head is so low her forehead presses into her knees.

Leia gapes at her son, who shrinks beside her. Which isn't easy, considering the fact that even sitting down, he's taller than her by at least a foot.

"So when I saw them slipping away at lunch today, I went out trying to catch them. It was… petty and juvenile, I admit," Hux continues.

You _are petty and juvenile,_ Finn thinks.

"But they weren't there, and I saw Finn and Poe making out instead."

Mr. Dameron's hand clenches against the wooden back of the bench. Finn feels as if his skin is crawling.

"You took photos of us! You called us—" Poe blurts out the name. "And Phasma attacked us! Ben and Rey came to help us!"

"That's why I smashed Mitaka's phone," Rey speaks up. "He had photos."

"Hux has been bullying me for weeks, and Finn too now," Poe says. "And he won't stop."

"So has Ben," Phasma shoots back.

 _They're all five year olds. Didn't tattling go out of style around then?_ Finn wonders.

"If you wanna bring up the car thing, go right ahead," Poe shoots back. "Ben and I have made up. He hasn't called me any of the names you have, or tried to beat up Finn and me. Even when we weren't... getting along it had _nothing_ to do with who I am, and you know it."

Ben glances at Poe, surprised.

"What car thing?" Luke asks, exasperated.

"Nothing," Hux insists.

"Quiet!" Snoke shouts. "It seems it's true that you, Hux, Phasma, Mitaka, and Nines, went with the intention of taking photographs of a couple, be it Finn and Poe or Ben and Rey."

"Which is wrong regardless," Finn says quickly.

" _Fistfights_ are wrong regardless," Snoke retorts.

"I think we need to ensure this harassment stops," says a woman Finn presumes is Mitaka's mother. "On both ends."

"I quite agree," Snoke purrs.

"He still probably has pictures on his phone," Finn points out, heart pounding as he imagines Hux taunting him by uploading private moments onto Facebook. He wouldn't put it past the guy.

"You should go through and make sure he deletes them," Luke says. "I insist on it."

"I make the calls now, Mr. Skywalker," Snoke shoots back. "But yes, Mr. Ackbar did mention that the kids were yelling about photos." He rifles through a drawer and lifts out eight phones. "Which one is yours?"

Hux selects an iPhone with a black case.

"Open it," Snoke orders, ignoring the pleading look on Hux's face as he holds out the phone for Hux to navigate. "Go to photos. Delete it." But of course not before everyone catches a glimpse of Finn and Poe with their arms around each other.

"You know what?" says Mr. Dameron loudly, getting to his feet. "I'm getting a little sick of all the homophobic bullying going on in this school. First my house gets a brick through the window, then my kid gets beat up, and now you're purposely humiliating my son."

Snoke stands up, towering over the shorter man, but Mr. Dameron doesn't flinch. "I resent that baseless accusation. And I've only been in charge for one week, Mr. Dameron. If I remember correctly, the brick incident happened under Mr. Skywalker's reign. I cannot be expected to—"

"Maybe not," Mr. Dameron interrupts so forcefully Snoke actually shuts up. "But I sure as hell expect you to do something about it now. If I hear of one more incident, whether it's directed at my son or at Finn or at _anyone_ , I will go to Jabba Hutt. You know that I used to report for the paper, don't you?"

Finn's eyebrows shoot up. So does his respect for Poe's father.

Poe looks at his dad with his eyes shining.

"I second that," Luke adds, his voice steady and terrifying. "I won't stand for it. Finn deserves to go to school without constant threats."

"Seems like something you should have addressed yourself," Snoke snarls.

"There was no proof of who threw that brick, which is a crime anyways. And I'm addressing it now." Luke glares at the man, and Finn feels his foster father's hand on his back.

"I agree," says a woman who must be Mitaka's mother. "I'm ashamed of my son."

Finn gulps.

"Are you demanding my son be kept away from yours?" snaps Mr. Hux.

"If that's what it takes," Mr. Dameron says.

"You are all suspended for a week," Snoke dictates. "During which, I will work out a plan for your children. Next time, Mr. Windu, Mr. Solo, and Miss Kenobi, you will be expelled. This is your final warning. And, Mr. Solo, Miss Kenobi, I'd like to speak to the two of you a bit longer, with your parent and your guardian. The rest of you are dismissed."

"Thank God," snaps Mr. Dameron, hand reaching to grasp his son's arm. "Let's go, Poe."

"I'll text you," Poe mutters to Finn, confiscating his phone as the room clears out.

"Mr. Windu, I don't know why you're still here."

"Finn can stay if Rey and I are staying," Luke says. "We're... family."

Snoke scowls. In the red lighting, he looks almost ghoulish. "Fine." He sits back down, leaning forward and tapping his fingertips together. "I'm concerned about the nature of Mr. Solo's and Miss Kenobi's relationship. They seem to be distracting each other—"

"How is that even possible?" Rey interrupts. Every eye turns towards her. "I mean, I'm sorry, but we've been together for like… two days. Not even. We haven't even taken any exams in the meantime."

"It's not so much _your_ performance I'm concerned with, Miss Kenobi, although you've been in quite a bit of trouble in your short time here." Snoke turns towards Ben, and Finn's skin crawls again. He feels as if Ben's been forced to strip naked in front of them all.

"He's had a lot going on in his life, as if you don't know," Leia says, her voice strong and icy. She rises, and Finn sees that though she's barely over five feet, she cuts a commanding presence. "I will not have you insulting my son— _humiliating_ him—again."

"I've been helping your son," Snoke returns, voice thin and narrow and trying desperately to weave into a threat. "While you've been otherwise occupied failing to weed out corruption and with your own marital woes."

"Don't talk to her like that!" Ben shouts.

"You don't talk to me like that, you ungrateful—"

"That's _it!"_ Leia shouts. Luke starts to smile. "We're done. Ben is _done_ with you. My son deserves so much better." She grabs Ben by his arm. "Get up. We're leaving."

"We are too," Luke affirms, hand still on Finn's back as he, Luke, and Rey rise together.

* * *

"Suspended again?" moans Threepio from the car.

"For protecting his friends," Mom says as she climbs in. Ben wedges himself into the backseat, grimacing as his legs barely fit. "If he had to get in a fight, that's the reason to do it."

"Mom," Ben says, leaning forward. "Mom, are you—did you miss Dad's—"

"He would have wanted me to come to you," she interrupts.

"Thank you," he whispers, still replaying her words in his mind again and again.

 _Ben is done with you._

 _My_ son _deserves so much better._

"So," Mom says as she pulls out her phone. "You and Rey, hm?"

Ben smiles, and she winks at him. "Just be safe."

"Oh God, Mom, please don't." His mom is that last person he ever wants to discuss this with.

"I quite agree with Ben here, Leia," says Threepio. "Let's not discuss this."

As Mom dials to find out his father's fate, an ominous feeling solidifies in Ben's stomach as the first snowflake falls. Snoke's lost him, and Snoke knows it.

 _What if he comes after Mom?_

 _There's no proof…_

 _I've got to find it,_ Ben realizes, snapping on his phone and texting Rey about it.

"He got out?" Mom gasps.

Ben's heart skips a beat.

"Your father's waiting for us at the house," Mom informs him.

Ben closes his eyes and doesn't open them again until the car turns down a driveway Ben knows every bump, ever crack in. The car stops.

"Leia!"

The voice tears through Ben like a spear through his heart. He grips the door handle, wondering whether he can bear to push it open.

It swings open for him, and Ben almost tumbles out. Chewie catches him. "Whoa there!"

"Ben!" Dad grabs him before he can push him away, and Ben finds himself sinking into his father's hug, dropping his head to his father's shoulder. Snow flutters into his hair. _Does he know? Does he suspect?_

"I was so worried about you," Dad says as he pulls back, gripping Ben by the back of his head. "I heard about your car accident."

If he does, he's not showing any sign of it. His dad's a fool. Believing, or at least _hoping_ , the best of Ben when Ben's given him no evidence as to why he should. "It was just a shoulder wound," Ben manages. "A few stitches, that's all."

Dad's eyes travel down to Ben's right forearm, and Ben realizes Mom must have told him. Ben tugs his sleeves even further down.

"Kid, it's okay," Dad reassures him. "I'm home now."

 _It won't be okay._

But Ben forces himself to smile and nod. His father deserves one night of happiness, one night with them all together.

"So what happened at school?" Chewie demands.

"Ben's done with Snoke," Mom informs both him and Dad. "The prick humiliated those kids. I'm telling you, Han, it was disgraceful. He's behind Luke's sacking, I know it."

 _So am I,_ Ben thinks as he follows them into the house.

"You look like someone socked you in the jaw, Ben," Chewie expresses in concern.

"Phasma did."

"Do you need an ice pack?" Mom asks.

He feels it and winces. "Maybe."

Mom reiterates the whole story, including the part about Ben and Rey making out, but _not_ , thankfully, the part about her giving him a hickey. At least he's worn a turtleneck today.

"Well," Dad opines as Mom hands Ben an ice pack. "You've got good taste, son. She's a great kid. Full of spunk."

Ben smirks.

"Why don't we all have dinner together tonight?" Mom asks. "Chewie, you're welcome to join of course, as always. Like we used to."

"Sure," Ben says quickly. _One night together…_

Dad grins, and he looks so thrilled Ben wants to stab himself, jump into a dark void, anything to avoid the shame of what's coming. Maybe. If he can prove it.

 _I have to._

 _Are you a genius or not?_

Rey hasn't responded yet. She will, though. Ben knows it.

"I've been thinking," Mom begins. "Of stepping down as mayor."

"You can't do that!" Ben objects.

"Leia, really, you can't," Dad agrees. "You're too important to this town."

"Well, as important as this town is to me, it's not nearly as important as the two of you," Mom says, her eyes welling up as Chewie shuffles out of the room. "I almost lost you, Han. And Ben, my business and neglect—don't shake your head, don't pretend I haven't neglected you in some ways—they've prevented me from being the mother I want to be. I'll still be involved, of course—I'll always be involved. And maybe when Ben graduates, I'll get more involved again. But this—the way life's been going—it's not what I want. You two are."

Dad kisses Mom full on the mouth. She gasps and wraps an arm around herself.

"Oh no," Ben says. "I'm out of here." He turns to run, but Dad's arm shoots out and pulls him back as his parents pull apart, and Ben finds himself squashed between his parents in a family hug.

It's what he's wanted since he can remember.

And it won't last.

* * *

 **Thanks to everyone for reading! Starting tomorrow, Ben, Rey, Finn, and Poe will craft a plan to gather proof... whether or not they go about it foolishly or brilliantly-well, you'll see.**


	16. Chapter 16

Finn retreats to his room after dinner. Luke claims he has "some work" to do. Hopefully it involves taking down Snoke. Snow swirls and tumbles outside his window, although so far there's only the lightest dusting of white on the ground. _Some blizzard._ Rey's in her room, probably calling Ben or something.

 _I'm not mad at either of you,_ Luke reassured them as he drove them home that afternoon. _Although, Rey, you do need to think about controlling your temper._ Poe texted Finn to tell him his parents were nothing but supportive as well.

 _Snoke has to go down, though,_ Poe texted.

Finn texts Poe as he changes in the old t-shirt and sweatpants he sleeps in and crawls into bed, planning on watching a movie Poe recommended he see, only to hear a knock on his door.

"Come in," he groans, switching on the light.

"It's me," Rey says as she slips in, clad in her pajamas—a t-shirt and some pink flannel pants with silver polka dots—as well.

"What's up?"

"I need to talk to you," she says, sitting cross-legged on the edge of his bed. "About Ben."

Finn shrugs. "Shoot." Personally, after Ben's attempts to help him and Poe that afternoon, Finn's hatred for the guy has softened considerably. " _Were_ you wrong about—"

"No," Rey interrupts. "No, he did set Han up."

Finn presses the heel of his hands over his eyes. _Dammit_. "Okay—Rey—why—?"

"Snoke," Rey says. "It's always been Snoke. It's complicated. He lit the fires, mostly. Ben didn't really have any part in that. And Snoke's threatening Ben—he'll do something to his mom, he'll make Ben take the fall for all of it—he'll go after _me_."

"What?" Finn demands, ice crystallizing his veins. _"You?"_

Rey nods, flipping her phone over and over in her hand. "He's got to be furious after what happened earlier—he knows he can't control Ben any longer. But Finn, Ben and I—we've got no way to prove what he's done."

Finn glances at his own phone, hope sparking. "Yeah, I might have an idea about that."

"Really?"

He nods. "Poe and I—we were thinking, even earlier today, about getting Ben to confess and recording it. If Ben can get Snoke to admit it while he doesn't know he's being recorded—"

Rey combs her fingers through her hair. "That could work." She types on her phone.

"I won't let Snoke hurt you," Finn promises, reaching out and resting his hand on her thin shoulder.

"Thanks, Finn." Rey wraps her arms around him. "You're like the brother I never had." She starts to choke up.

"Oh, God," Finn teases her as her phone goes off. "If I'm your brother do I get to threaten him?" he calls as Rey answers her phone.

She flips him off as she leaves the room.

Wind rattles the windowpane. Finn climbs out of bed, the wood floors cold against the soles of his feet as he paces. He texts Poe what Rey told him about Ben. _So your plan might come in handy after all._

Poe sends him a picture of Beebee-Ate staring morosely out the window. _Beebee-Ate is pleased. The snow is just crushing his soul right now._

 _What snow?_ Finn cracks up as the door flies open. Rey barges in, boots half on over her pajamas, shoving her arms through her parka.

"What the hell?" Finn yelps.

"Shh!"

"Are you going to make a snow angel or something? In the quarter inch we have of the stuff?"

She snorts as she tries to pull her hair up into a bun. "I wish. No, Ben texted Snoke and asked to meet him tomorrow—I told him Poe would give him a ride, even though I didn't ask, sorry—but Snoke told him to meet him _now_."

"Are you nuts?" Finn gestures towards the window, grasping for any reason to stop her. "Can you not see we're in the middle of a blizzard?"

"It's hardly snowing out. Driving conditions aren't supposed to get bad until after midnight."

"It's not like he has a clean driving record even when it's not snowing!"

"Well, he's going. And I'm going with him."

Finn feels like both Rey and Ben's IQs have dropped below average. "How? Dude doesn't have his car!"

"He said he was going to borrow his father's." Rey laces up a boot.

"Meeting Snoke at night doesn't strike you as pretty suspicious? Like, _you'll be on one of those cold case shows someday_ suspicious?"

Rey rolls her eyes. "Not especially. Ben used to study with him until ten or eleven sometimes. Tell Luke I've gone to sleep, okay?"

"I am not lying for you!"

Rey straightens up. "Then come with me."

Finn doesn't want to do this. They could lie, tell Luke they're just going out with Poe—but the last thing Finn wants to do after Luke put himself into Snoke's line of fire for Finn today is lie to him.

"Let me call Poe," Finn mutters. "His driving I _do_ trust. Text Ben and tell him we'll pick him up."

He leaves the light on in his room.

* * *

"You're ridiculous," Ben says as he climbs in Poe's car. His face burns despite the snow and cold. _I can't believe they're helping me._

"You're welcome, Ben, for helping you get yourself out of this mess you created," Poe says in return.

Rey grabs his hand. Ben stares at her. "Why are you in pajamas?"

"Because I didn't feel like getting dressed again."

"So," Poe says, clearing his throat. "Directions. Also, what the hell did you tell your parents? Isn't your dad—"

"He's tired," Ben interrupts. "He went to bed. I told Mom I was studying in my room. She never checks on me."

"I told my parents that I was playing board games with Finn and Rey," Poe says.

"We didn't tell Luke anything," Rey admits.

"Fucking great," Poe says sarcastically. "So how's this going to work? You're just going to go in there, confront this crazy Nazi-wannabe, and record him and leave?"

"Exactly," Ben says, although he doubts it will be so simple. _It has to be_. "And I'll give it to Lando Calrissian in the morning. After the snow quiets down. And then go to jail, or whatever."

Everyone's silent. Rey's hand rests on his knee.

"You can't go to jail," Poe says. "Who will take Rey to prom?"

"Hey!" Rey smacks the back of Poe's head.

"Hey yourself! I'm driving here!" Poe slows down again.

Rey shrugs.

"If I don't go to jail," Ben says. "Rey's welcome to come with me."

"If that's your way of asking her, man, you need to step it up," Finn informs him.

"I think it's fine," Rey counters as Ben tells Poe to take a right. "My answer's yes." She pecks him on the cheek, and he takes her lips in his—just briefly.

His stomach clenches and his lungs flounder. He's going to have to confront Snoke. Right now.

"None of you can come in with me," Ben says. "And you should probably park like down the street, Poe."

"Yeah, then how are we supposed to rescue you if Snoke finds out you're recording him, then?" Finn asks. Sarcastically. Ben thinks.

"I'll be fine," Ben insists. He wants to grab his arm for reassurance, but, as if she can read his mind, Rey closes her hand over his forearm, protecting him from himself. "The worst he'll do is hit me."

" _Has_ he hit you?" Poe asks. "Before?"

Ben nods. "Yeah."

"What a jerk. Like, he's got to be some kind of psychopath. That's just—" Poe inhales. "Not right. Like how did you ever—"

"Enough, Poe," Finn interjects.

Ben's grateful for the darkness that cloaks his face, so no one can see how ashamed he feels. It's not as if he hasn't been asking himself the same question. And he knows why: because he's been selfish. And because Snoke brainwashed him—Rey first used that word earlier in the evening, and Ben thinks it fits, except his brain doesn't feel clean. It feels murky, muddled, like Snoke twisted the wiring from the inside and now Ben needs to be put back together.

"Roads are getting worse than they're supposed to," Poe muses as he takes a left and the car skids for a moment. Ben's heart palpitates, but Poe rights the car.

"You're one helluva driver," Finn breathes.

"It's this one. Beyond the trees. On the left," Ben directs. "You should stop here! Here. At the trees."

Poe parks and shifts so that he's looking over his shoulder, straight at Ben. "If you aren't out of there in a half hour, I'm coming in."

"Be careful," Finn warns.

"I'm coming to the door," Rey insists. "I won't let Snoke see me, but I can—"

" _No,"_ Ben snaps. "Please, Rey, this is—this is between me, and him."

She kisses him on the mouth, long and deep.

"Ew," Poe comments.

Rey pushes him away, her eyes glinting. "Go."

He steps out into the cold, his boots sinking in frigid slush as he slogs towards his mentor's house. Swallowing his fear, Ben presses the microphone on his phone as he rings the doorbell.

He doesn't hear the car door slam behind him, and as Snoke opens the door and the house swallows him, he doesn't notice Rey creeping through the yard.

* * *

"Luke?"

"Shara Bey," Luke greets Poe Dameron's mother, an old friend of his. "How's it going? How's Poe?"

"That's why I'm calling. Kes and I were thinking—the snow's starting to come down harder than they said it would at this time, and we're kind of uncomfortable with him driving home. I know that, with him and Finn dating, this may seem like an odd request or one you're not entirely comfortable with, but could he spend the night at your place? On the couch?"

"Poe's over?" Luke stands up and opens the door to his office, which he had soundproofed years ago. He listens for Rey's laughter, Poe's rumble.

Nothing.

"He said Finn invited him for a game night."

Luke pounds down the stairs. "Rey? Finn? Poe?"

Artoo mews.

"Hold on," Luke says. "This game night—this is the first I've heard of it." He darts back up the stairs, flinging open Finn's door. The light's on, but Finn isn't there. And Rey isn't in her room either. Their coats and boots are gone. "Shit."

"They aren't there, are they?" Shara Bey inquires.

"Nope." Luke leans against the hallway wall, gulping air.

"Was there a party going on tonight or something?" Shara Bey asks.

"I don't know." If they're off drinking… Luke doesn't understand. He can't figure why either Rey or Finn would sneak out to do that, especially on a night like tonight. They may be teenagers, but surely they have more sense than that.

"I'll call Poe's phone."

"I'll call Finn and Rey's. And, Shara Bey," Luke adds. "You might want to call Han and Leia."

* * *

"What did you come here for, Ben Solo?" Snoke crosses his arms, and Ben's temporarily relieved. If Snoke wants to hit him, he'll have to uncross his arms first, which means Ben might have warning enough to dodge the blow.

"I wanted to tell you that my mother is right. I'm done with you."

"And you had to come here to tell me this… why?"

"I want your assurance," Ben says, heart thumping, throat constricting, blood roaring in his ears. "That you won't come after her. I'll keep your secrets, if you leave us alone. Me, Rey, my parents, my uncle. All of us." _Dammit_ , why hadn't he spelled out what Snoke's done instead of saying _secrets?_

Shadows gyrate around Snoke's face. For whatever reason, two candles are lit, and there's not any other light. "And why would I do that?"

"Because you've got everything you wanted," Ben pleads. "My uncle's job as principal, so you can make the school system what you want."

"I don't have everything, Ben. How do I know you won't sabotage me? You and that little foster brat from Jakku? Fail every test just to make me look bad?"

Ben recoils. _Has he always been this paranoid?_ "You should know that I care way too much about my own future."

"Indeed." Snoke watches him carefully, too carefully. "How about we strike a deal? You have lunch with me once a week, in my office."

"I don't want to spend any more time with you!" Ben cries. "You made me frame my own father!"

Snoke's hands come out, and Ben's reflexes still aren't fast enough as Snoke shoves him to the floor. He grunts as he lands.

"I didn't make you do anything," Snoke hisses. " _You_ are the one who came to _me_ , desperate to keep our lessons going after your father's little threat."

"You would have done it anyways!" Ben manages as he crawls to his knees.

"Lit the fire? Oh yes. Blamed Han Solo? No, Ben, that was _you_." Snoke tsks. "I'm disappointed in you, Ben. Your ambition can be your greatest asset. Your sentimentality makes you weak and foolish, like your father."

"He is _not!"_ Ben defends his father, knowing full well he would have agreed two week ago.

Snoke pushes him again as Ben gets up. This time he falls on his phone, and it jams painfully under his ribs. Ben gasps. "Stay down, boy! Han Solo is a pathetic, old—"

"Don't talk about him like that!" Ben shouts. " _He's my father!"_

"Have you forgotten what I can do to you?" Snoke sneers. "If you wanted to convince me to pin all the arsons on you, well, you're coming very close!"

This should be enough. It has to be. "I shouldn't have come," Ben says. "I'm leaving." He gets to his feet and feels a fist swing into his head.

"You don't just walk out on me—"

Enraged, Ben throws his own fist into his mentor's face.

The door flies open. _"Ben!"_

"Rey!"

Snoke lunges for Rey, grasping her arm and twisting her phone out of it and smashing the thing against his stairs. As Ben scrambles towards her, Snoke throws a flailing Rey into the side of the staircase. With a sickening crunch, the back of her head strikes the side of a stair, and she slumps to the floor.

"What did you do?" Ben screams, dropping to his knees. _"Rey!"_

Snoke's face blanches as Ben tries to shake Rey awake. She's breathing, he can feel the soft warm air coming out of her nostrils, but—"She won't wake up!"

"Bring her into the bathroom," Snoke orders, his voice a low croak and riddled with shock. Ben lifts Rey, carrying her as he rushes along after Snoke. Blood trickles through Rey's hair.

"Lay her on the floor," Snoke directs as he flicks the light in the small, windowless room with its nauseating yellow wallpaper.

"The floor?"

"I don't have a bed in here!" Snoke snarls.

"Do you have a first aid—do we need to call—"

"Yes," Snoke says. "Call for help."

Ben whips out his phone from the pocket of his heavy black coat. He turns off the voice recording, fingers shaking.

"I'll call," Snoke gripes, snatching it out of Ben's hand. "One moment." Snoke slips towards the door, and then it slams shut.

"What are you doing?" Ben shrieks.

"Imagine," comes Snoke's voice. "I think it makes a lot of sense for a serial arsonist teenager to take down the principal who almost expelled him, don't you?"

"I have an alibi for the chemistry fire!" Ben screams out of panic.

"I think he'd light a fire," Snoke continues. "Maybe get his girlfriend to help him, too."

Ben throws himself against the solid oak door as the sound of something heavy—a table?—being dragged against the floor and propped against the door resonates. "You'll lose everything!"

"We'll just see about that!" Snoke yells back, unhinged and nonsensical, a man desperately trying to grasp whatever he has left even if that's nothing but hatred. Ben knows how that feels, when he betrayed his father and realized it was all for nothing. But he grabbed onto Rey, on his mother.

" _Please!"_ Ben begs. "Please, Snoke, please. I won't tell anyone—I won't—take Rey out of here, at least—"

Snoke doesn't answer, but the smell of gasoline permeates the air.


	17. Chapter 17

"Pick up your goddamn phone!" Leia screams into the cell as she paces. Shara Bey and Kes Dameron and Luke are on their way. "Ben, I swear if you don't call me back in about ten seconds, I will call the police!"

"I'm going," Han declares, turning to his wife. "Chewie and I will look—the roads are bad, Leia. I think you should call Lando."

"Why would they be so stupid?" Leia demands, tears clogging her voice.

Han shakes his head. "We were pretty dumb as teenagers, too."

"Speak for yourself," Leia retorts. "Go. You and Chewie." If her son managed to get himself in another car accident, she'll murder him. Just as she thought they were making headway…

 _Where the hell would they have gone?_ she wonders. What could possibly be so important that all four of them snuck out of their houses without a word? That Poe Dameron _lied_ to his parents?

Han kisses her on the forehead.

"Be careful," she warns him.

"I always am."

"Bring him home," she orders, because she doesn't know what else to say. Her fingers know what to do, though, and they dial Lando, who answers on the first ring.

"Leia?"

"Lando, Ben's missing. I think he went out with friends—Rey, Finn, and Poe Dameron, but none of them are answering their phones—have you heard of any accidents or—"

"I have, but none that involve teenagers." Lando blows out his breath. "I'll put out an APB on the Dameron kid's car."

"Thank you, Lando."

"And I'll look for him, myself."

* * *

"I have to go!" Rey hangs up.

"Rey? What's going—Rey!" Finn gapes at his phone. It starts to ring again, for the third time in the past ten minutes, but Finn's been unable to hang up on Rey as she listened outside the house. _Luke_.

He hits the end button, heart pounding as his fingers fumble to flip open the car door. Snow stings his face like little daggers cutting wherever his skin is bare.

"I'm with you, Finn," Poe says, leaping out behind him as they skulk closer to the house. There are footprints from Ben, from Rey, but the house itself is dark and quiet.

"Do we go in?" Finn wonders.

"Shh!" Poe grabs him and jerks him against the side as they hear a screen door creak and slam.

"Is that Snoke?" Finn whispers, even though it's obvious from the figure's height. "What do we do?"

Snoke jumps inside his car and drives away.

"I don't like this," Finn says as the distinct odor of smoke prickles his nostrils. "Poe! It's on fire! The house is on fire!"

"Holy shit!" Poe gapes at the house comprised of plain wooden shingles. A thin wisp of smoke emerges from the window, and orange light flickers inside one of the lower windows. As many ways as he pictured this plan going wrong, Snoke literally trying to roast them never crossed his mind.

"Call for help!" Finn shoves past Poe, barreling into the house.

"Shit!" Poe whips out his phone, hesitating. Call or follow Finn?

Bright headlights rip his choice away from him. _Snoke. Coming_ back.

"I should have known," Snoke snarls as he jumps out of his car. "Don't leave your car unattended next time, Dameron." Something jangles in the air as it flies far behind Snoke, into the woods. Poe's keys.

Poe runs, but running through snow is like running through sand. He'll never be able to outright a creature who's over a foot taller than he is. _But…_ "What did you do to them?" he shouts. "Ben and Rey? Did you kill them?" It can't be true. Snoke's not that evil.

Snoke grabs him by the shoulders, and it takes all of Poe's self-control not to smack the man in his ugly old face, not to fight beyond a few pathetic squirms. _Wait_. Snoke digs through Poe's pockets and pulls out his phone.

"Where's Finn?"

"In your little bonfire already," Poe snarls.

"Well, that's perfect then," Snoke says, grip tight, and Poe realizes that this man is, in fact, _that_ disturbed. He's willing to kill.

Poe knees Snoke in the groin. Snoke howls and drops to the ground, and Poe kicks him in the head. He doesn't have time to pick up his phone. He races for Snoke's car, leaping in and twisting the keys, peeling out. The car slides around the road, but Poe rights it as he presses the gas pedal to levels he's never approached even in good weather.

A phone rings on the seat next to him. Ben's phone, Poe realizes as he fumbles to answer it.

"Ben!"

"It's Poe!" he screams to Ms. Organa as he slams on the brakes. "You've got to—you've—"

"Poe!"

"Snoke's gone crazy! Like batshit! He's lit his house on fire and I think Ben and Rey are inside, and he tried to put me inside, and Finn went in to rescue them!" Poe starts to gasp. _Breathe, Dameron! You can't hyperventilate here!_

"Where are you?"

"Never mind where I am! Finn and Rey and Ben—"

Lights flash in front of him, and Poe jerks the steering wheel to the side. The light and the white form a kaleidoscope that whirls around Poe. He cries out as the car skids, spins—and stops.

" _Poe!"_ shouts Ms. Organa.

A distinct police cruiser pulls up alongside him. "Han! Chewie!"

"Are they there?" Ms. Organa demands.

"Yes!" Poe stumbles out of the car. "Help!"

* * *

"Finn!" Ben's voice comes out a plea from behind the bathroom door. " _Help!"_

"Where's Rey?"

"Snoke knocked her out! I think she's hurt really badly—"

Finn is on his hands and knees, trying to breathe as smoke sears his lungs. The fire already consumed the living room, was racing through the kitchen when Finn barged in. Finn made the mistake of brushing his shoulder against a certain wall and came away with a smoldering burn. It still smarts, and Poe's jacket reeks of burned leather.

Finn wrestles the table away from the door, jiggling the doorknob. "Where's the key?"

"I don't know!"

"Stand back!" Finn runs and jumps at the door. It barely budges. "Oh, come on!"

Smoke shoves its claws down his throat, and Finn gags. His eyes smart and run. Something glints from above the door. The key. "Hold on!" Finn stands on his tiptoes and manages to snag it. He swings the door open to see Ben grabbing Rey bridal style, hacking.

"I don't know if we can make it out that way!" Finn shouts.

"We have to try!" Ben rushes forwards, but as a groan echoes, Finn starts screaming. And even as he screams, his body is moving, pushing Ben and Rey out of the way as a wooden bookshelf collapses on them. Fire shoots up his spine, and then, there's blackness, and pain, and he's choking, and then someone's dragging him.

* * *

"You!" Han bellows as Snoke races past their car. "Not this time!"

Chewie leaps out of the still moving vehicle and aims his taser at the man, firing. Poe's jaw drops.

And then Poe sees the flames slurping the air as they wave tauntingly from the first floor windows. " _No!"_

" _Ben!"_ Han flies towards the house, but something shatters on the opposite side of the house. A window. Glass splinters, flying into the blizzard. Poe ducks as the wind carries several shards towards them.

And Ben emerges, staggering, Rey cradled in his arms. He manages to get only a few feet from the house before collapsing, straight onto a particularly large shard of glass that stabs into his side. Poe gasps as red blood spills onto the snow.

"Ben!" Han drops to his knees as Poe grabs Rey and hauls her away from the burning house. Chewie dives through the window.

Poe looks back to see Han carrying Ben, blood dripping from his side and a horrifying burn across his face. Whether it's the smoke or the sight or just sheer horror, Poe doesn't know, but he leans over and vomits.

Rey gasps.

"Rey!" Her eyes open, tears pouring from them as she struggles to breathe.

"Hold on, Rey!" Poe begs, looking up to see Chewie emerging, Finn in his arms from the same window Ben broke out of. " _Finn!"_

Rey retches, and Poe takes snow and presses it against her face as if the shocking cold might help. He doesn't know what to do. He's panicking.

"He's alive, Poe!" Chewie calls. "Just knocked out." He leans over Finn.

Sirens wail in the distance.

"Phone," Ben gurgles, looking to Poe. " _Phone_. _6574."_

Gasping, Poe nods. _I'll get it to them, Ben._

 _Six five seven four. 6574._ Poe repeats the code to himself. _Don't forget. 6574._

Ben lays his head back down, moaning. Han strokes his son's hair with one hand as he tears Ben's shirt with the other, and then Han wriggles out of his own jacket to press it against the bleeding wound. Han's lips curl as he takes in bruises marring Ben's chest, bruises Poe can even see.

The rest is a blur. Ambulances arrive, and medics with oxygen masks, and firefighters who seem exasperated. Lando arrives to handcuff Snoke and haul him to his feet.

"Do you want to ride with Finn?" Chewie asks Poe as he watches the man arrested. "I'll go with Rey."

Poe nods, wiping at his eyes.

"Come here." Chewie wraps a burly arm around Poe. "You were incredibly brave, you know that?"

Poe shakes his head, a sob emerging. He has to hold it together. For Finn. _6574_. "We were _stupid_."

Chewie sighs. Clearly, he can't deny it.

"Officer Calrissian!" Poe calls, breaking away from Chewie and jogging towards him. "Ben's phone. In Snoke's car. It has an important recording on it. The passcode is 6574."

"What?" groans Snoke, still groggy.

Officer Calrissian nods. "Thank you, Poe. 6574?" He shoves Snoke into the cruiser without ceremony, the red and blue lights snapping through the whirling snow. As Poe heads to Finn's ambulance, he notices Lando opening the door to Snoke's car, presumably to retrieve Ben's phone, and feels relieved.

Han leaps into the ambulance transporting Ben, and Poe climbs up front in Finn's. He can't see them working on his boyfriend. Poe bites down on his knuckles to keep his sobs quiet.

When they arrive at the hospital, Poe watches as EMTs wheel Finn away, but his boyfriend still isn't moving. Rey at least manages a wave when they unload her. Han rushes alongside Ben's stretcher, and Poe's fingers trace his own face from his forehead to his chin, cringing as he thinks of that burn.

 _It should be me._

 _Why didn't I follow Finn into the house?_

He's the only one unscathed, and it's just so _unfair_.

"Let's go, kid," Chewie tells him, taking him by the arm and entering the emergency department, where Leia, Luke, and two other people stand in front of Han, no doubt demanding to know how their children are.

" _Poe!"_

" _Poe!"_

His mother and father race towards him, and Poe crumples in their arms, bawling.

"Shh," Mom murmurs, rubbing his back. "You're okay. That's all that matters."

"It's not," Poe cries. "Finn—Rey—Ben—they're all—"

"That's not your fault," Mom reassures him.

"Yes it is!" Poe sounds like a child, and it's such a relief to him, to be a child instead of the man he's been pretending to be. He turns his head to see Luke and Ms. Organa and Han, all of them pale and with knotted brows, Han with soot on his face and hands red from the raw snow and blood, watching him. "I drove them. I came up with the plan—sort of. I—I—God, I should have—"

"Poe," Ms. Organa interrupts. "Poe, if it weren't for you, we might not have found them in time. Whatever your role in getting them into this mess—and I assure you I will want to know every detail, but not right now—you _saved_ your friends."

Poe shakes his head.

"You _are_ grounded," Dad says, but his voice is tight and uneven and Poe looks up to see his father crying. "Oh, God, Poe—we just heard that there were three ambulances. We didn't know—we were so afraid."

"Snoke tried to drag me inside," Poe says. "He lit all the fires, _all of them."_

Luke puts a hand on Poe's shoulder as the boy—because he may be sixteen, but that's precisely what he is—cries and lets his mother rock him back and forth.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Two more chapters to go :)**


	18. Chapter 18

"What's your name?" an elderly nurse asks.

"Rey," she answers. She feels sluggish, her head throbs, and her chest hurts as if she has a cold, but she doesn't. She remembers heat, and screaming. "Where are the others?"

"Your friends are going to be all right, sweetheart," the nurse says, and Rey cringes at the pet name. "How old are you?"

"Sixteen. Is Snoke—"

"Calm down, hon. Everything's all right." The nurse purses her lips. "Do you want me to get your foster dad?"

Rey tries to nod, but it hurts too much. The oxygen mask is still over her mouth. "Yes."

"Will do." The nurse glances back at her clipboard. "Do you know where you are?"

"Hospital. In D'Qar." The steady beeping of machines surrounds her.

"Good. I'll go get Luke for you, and the doctor will be in shortly." She leaves the door, and Rey tries to fight back tears. _Snoke… he tried to kill us. The man's worse than Unkar Plutt._

"Rey!" Luke barges in and rushes towards her, dragging a chair over to her side. "How are you feeling?"

"My head hurts," she mumbles. "Ben—Finn—"

"They haven't let me in to see Finn yet," Luke admits. "But the doctors did say it's not—he's going to be all right, Rey. They both are." Luke grabs her hand, and Rey sighs. "We got Snoke. I'm just—I'm so grateful you're all right."

The machines beeping, Luke's voice, the realization that for the first time in her life, Rey's surrounded by people who don't want to use her, who want to help her, who love her— _because isn't that love?_ —overwhelms Rey. She doesn't know what to do, how to react, and for a girl who's always reacting, it's jarring.

"Rey Kenobi!" The same doctor who treated Ben for his car accident the previous weekend enters the room. "I heard you got a blow to the head, and you've got some smoke inhalation, but that's not too serious." She takes out a silver instrument and shines it into Rey's eyes. Rey blinks.

"Your pupils look good," the doctor informs her. _Kalonia!_ That's her name. "And you were able to answer my nurse's questions, albeit a bit slowly. I'm just gonna have a look at your head here." She slides on latex gloves and grips Rey's scalp. "You've got a laceration, but I don't think it needs stitches. The bleeding's mostly stopped."

"Good," Luke comments.

"How did this happen?" Dr. Kalonia asks. "Your injury."

Rey coughs. "Snoke tried to—I heard him hurting Ben, so I ran in and he grabbed me—he smashed my phone—he threw me into the stairs."

Dr. Kalonia shakes her head. "Despicable. They'll be begging you to come back, Luke."

Luke doesn't even respond to the doctor. His mouth is open and his eyes widen with fury. _For_ Rey. Not at her.

"Well, Rey," Dr. Kalonia says. "You have what I think is a grade 3 concussion. I'm going to order a CT scan just to make sure everything's all right inside that head of yours, and then, as long as everything looks all right, I'll probably keep you overnight for observation and discharge you in the morning, okay? I'll get the nurse to get you some Tylenol for the pain. Absolutely no aspirin when she goes home, do you understand?"

"Yes," Luke promises.

As soon as Dr. Kalonia leaves, Rey groans. "I feel like we've been nothing but trouble for you." _Please_ , she thinks. _Tell me I'm wrong._

"That's not true," Luke counters. "Granted, what you did tonight was… stupid. Reckless really. But it was also... your heart was in the right place. And I didn't decide to become a foster father thinking I'd get angels, Rey."

The phrase _your heart was in the right place_ is the one that sticks in Rey's mind.

"I already promised I'd never send you or Finn away. And I wouldn't want to."

In Jakku, promises always came with a condition. "Why are we worth it to you?" Rey croaks. "You're not getting anything out of it. Out of us."

"Yes, I am," Luke says. "I'm getting to _give_ you and Finn both love, and affection—and, God, Rey, you both matter to me. Just because… I don't know, you _do_."

Luke likes her because she's Rey. Rey has a hard enough time believing that of Ben, of Poe and Finn, and an authority figure she's far less likely to believe. But Luke's never given her any reason to doubt what he's saying now, and he's had ample opportunity.

"Okay," she whispers.

* * *

"Finn?"

White.

And light. So, so much light.

Slowly objects come into focus, separating themselves from the blinding snow, which isn't snow at all. It's a wall, and a curtain. A hospital curtain.

Finn rolls his head over to see Luke peering at him, eyes watering.

Burning pain shudders down Finn's back, and he arches.

"Whoa, whoa, don't move," Luke says. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

Finn nods. "Yeah." His voice sounds hoarse. His throat prickles. It's raw.

 _The fire. The bookcase…_

"Rey! Poe," Finn gasps. "Ben—"

"They're all okay," Luke reassures him as he fumbles to press the call button on the side of Finn's bed. "Rey has a concussion; I was just with her. Poe's not hurt at all, but he's pretty much camping out in the waiting room. Ben's got some burns and some lacerations from where he smashed that window—"

"He smashed a window?" Finn croaks.

Luke nods, his thumb tracing Finn's forehead. "To get you both out of there."

"A bookcase collapsed on us," Finn tells him.

Luke sighs.

"Is Rey burned too?"

"No."

Ben must have shielded her, Finn realizes. "I'm sorry."

Luke shakes his head. "That was—what you did—rushing in there after them—Poe told us. That was incredibly brave, Finn. _Incredibly_. Even if I don't understand why you couldn't just come to me in the first place."

Finn shakes his head. Now, in the daylight, with Luke looking at him like he's an actual son, he doesn't understand either. "I don't know." His back stabs him again, and he winces. "Did you get Snoke?"

Luke nods. "Yes. He's under arrest."

Finn decides not to bring up Ben's secret yet. For all he knows, Luke doesn't have a clue.

Luke wipes at his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Finn rasps.

"Yeah. I just—God, Finn, when I saw you were both gone, I was _worried_ , but I was also pissed. And then when Chewie radioed us—when we heard three of you had been seriously injured—it terrified me, Finn. I know I haven't known you or Rey long, but I love you both like you are my children. I couldn't imagine anything happening to you."

Finn's eyes burn now, too. "Shit." But he takes Luke's hand. "Thanks."

Luke nods. "Would you like to see Poe? And Rey?"

"Yeah."

A nurse comes in.

"He needs some more pain medication," Luke directs.

"Rate your pain," the woman says. "Scale of one to ten."

"Six."

She nods.

"I'll get them," Luke promises. The nurse asks Finn more questions about how he's feeling.

When his boyfriend flies into the room, Finn almost cries again. Rey walks behind him, a bandage wrapped around her skull.

"You're okay," Poe manages, dropping into the chair next to him. "I was so scared, Finn."

"Thanks for getting help," Finn says, reaching for Poe's hand. Poe leans down and kisses him, quick and simple.

"How's your back?" Rey inquires

"It's okay. They just gave me more meds." Finn rolls his eyes. "How are you?"

"Concussion." Rey fiddles with the bandage that wraps around her head like a headband. "Snoke pushed me into the stairs."

"Excuse me," interrupts a doctor. "I'm Dr. Kalonia."

"Hi," Finn says.

"Hi," she responds, grinning. "You sustained a pretty serious burn down your back, as well as a contusion on your head, but you don't appear to have a concussion. I'd like to watch you for a few more hours, but I anticipate discharging you to your guardian this afternoon."

"What do you know?" Finn says to Poe. "I'm not going to die."

Poe snorts.

* * *

His face burns, and the flames draw him out of the dark. His side throbs, and Ben's breath hitches.

When he arrived at the hospital the night before, he forced himself to stay awake as Dr. Kalonia gave him more stitches, as she treated the scalding burn on his face.

"Will it scar?" Ben asked her.

"Don't worry about that," she reassured him, but through his painkiller-induced haze, Ben overheard her saying something about _plastic surgeons_ to his parents.

 _I'm scarred._

 _You're a monster._

Now, he looks like one.

 _Rey doesn't think I'm a monster._ Nor does Finn, and maybe not even Poe. And they _know_ what he's done. Rey tried to save him from Snoke. Finn broke into a burning house, saving them when Ben had given up, dropped to the floor to cradle Rey's head and pray for nothing besides that smoke would mercifully steal their oxygen before the fire stole their bodies.

"Rey's fine," Dad insisted as he and Mom crowded over Ben during the night. "So is Finn. And Poe. He's pretty worried about you." They asked none of the expected questions, like _how long did you know?_ about Snoke.

Surely they've realized Ben must have known about his father being framed. They might even suspect what he actually did.

And then Ben pretended to sleep, even though he couldn't quell his racing thoughts, couldn't squeeze away the lump in his throat that rose in anticipation of Lando Calrissian coming through the door to arrest him at any moment, enough to sleep. But he couldn't face his parents. Not then.

Instead, he lay there with nothing but his own thoughts, sneaking peeks at his parents, who haven't left his bedside. Dad fell asleep around three am, Mom around five, and Ben sometime after that.

Judging from the sunlight glowing even through his closed eyelids, it's got to be afternoon. Ben cracks his eyes open.

"He's awake! Leia!" Dad's face fills Ben's vision.

"Hey," Ben manages.

"Oh, thank God." Mom grips his hand. "How're you feeling?"

"Fine." He deserves his pain.

 _No, you don't._ That's what his therapist would say.

"Are you sure?" Mom presses.

"I'll be all right."

"Oh God, you—you gave us quite a scare," Dad says, obviously tempering his words.

"Sorry."

Mom strokes his hair off his forehead, careful to avoid the gauze covering his burn.

"Rey?" he asks. He needs to see her… hold her hand one more time, and then tell his parents. It's not right that they should find out from Lando Calrissian.

"She's waiting outside to see you," Mom confirms. "Her and quite a few others."

"Can I see them?" Ben asks.

"Of course." Dad heads out the door and returns with far more people than Ben expected. Rey hurries over to him, grabbing his hand, a white bandage wrapped around her umber hair. Finn and Poe follow, hand in hand, Finn walking stiffly. Ben remembers kicking a burning piece of wood off of Finn's back, dragging him towards the window and bargaining with any God or energy or force out there to help him break the window.

Chewie shakes his head. "Good to see you in one piece, kid."

"I'm glad you're okay," Uncle Luke says, smiling as gently as ever.

Two others crowd the room. Poe's parents. Ben can't remember their names. And Threepio, whose eyes are filled with tears.

 _I guess he does care after all._

"In all fairness, it was _your_ idea," Poe jokes.

Ben glares at him.

"Okay, it was your idea amended from my idea," Poe admits.

Rey kisses him on the lips, chastely. "Your face…"

"It's not going to go away," Ben says bluntly. "I don't think."

"That's okay." Rey touches the bandage on her scalp. It almost looks like a floppy, overly thick halo. Her eyes search his, and he feels her unspoken question. _Have you…?_

Ben squeezes her hand and turns to his parents. "Mom, Dad, I need to tell you something." As those words leave his lips, he knows there's no going back.

"Should we be here for this?" Poe asks quickly.

 _No_. And yet… they _know_ , and they don't hate him. "You and Finn already _know_ ," Ben points out.

"Would you like us to leave?" Uncle Luke wants to know.

Rey's jaw tenses, and she looks terrified for him. The quote Rey had read to him that day by the burned-out theater floats into Ben's mind: _Go at once, this very minute, stand at the cross-roads, bow down, kiss the earth which you have defiled, and then bow down to all the world and say to men aloud, "I am a murderer!"_

"No," Ben says, voice quiet. "You can… all stay." _It'll be public knowledge soon enough._ God, Jabba Hutt's going to love it.

He doesn't want to look at his father when he admits this. He wants to look at Rey, feed off of her strength, but he knows that wouldn't be fair. He at least owes this to his father.

"Dad," Ben begins, his hands starting to shake as terror tremors its way through each nerve in his body. "I framed you. I put the canister in your car. I called you and asked you to meet for coffee because I knew what I was going to do."

The heat monitor beside him still bleeps, but otherwise the room is deadly silent. Ben can't tear his gaze from his father's, which blanches, his lips coming apart in a look of absolute horror. The look of a man who's discovered a monster.

Chewie groans, snapping everyone out of their stupor.

" _Why?"_ Mom cries out.

He can't look at her. His gaze darts to Rey, who is steady, her hand still in his. "Because… Snoke asked me to." A sob tries to climb out of his already raw throat. "He knew… the first fire. The theater building, over the summer. I lit that."

Dad sinks into a chair, his hand covering his eyes like he can't even bear to look at his son.

"It was an accident," he begs. "I was stupid… I was lighting fireworks with Hux, and Phasma. I didn't mean for any of it to happen! It caught on fire, and I—we—panicked. Snoke knew, though."

"Oh, goodness gracious me," sighs Threepio.

"Did Snoke threaten you?" Uncle Luke demands.

Ben wishes he had a different answer to give. He wants to slice his arm, flay it. He wishes the glass from the window had struck an artery. "No. Not until later… until after. After I already… after I did that." Now tears slip out of his eyes, running down his face, stinging through the gauze. "I'm _sorry!"_ The sobs tear at his stitches, and he wishes it would open up, that he would bleed out.

His father's hand is still over his eyes. _Look at me, Dad, look at me,_ Ben wants to plead.

"That's why I went there," Ben chokes out. "To get Snoke to confess. I couldn't—I mean—" He can't continue. Cowardice tightens its strings around his vocal cords.

"Ben." Dad speaks his name, and then his father is standing over him, reaching down to caress the sides of his face. And for the life of him, Ben can't comprehend _why_ , why his father's touching him like he's precious, like he's cherished, when he's just admitted to betraying his father, to ruining his career for the flimsiest of motivations.

But it's breaking him down. He stares back at his father, crying, begging him to judge him. And because no one else will say it, he will: "I'm a monster."

"You are _not_ ," Mom insists.

"It's Snoke who's the monster," growls Chewie.

"Indeed," sniffs Threepio, and Ben doesn't understand why the stuffy butler, of all people, isn't throwing stones.

"No—it's me, I'm the one who did it—"

"Sorry, Rey," Mom says as she moves to Ben's other side. Rey lets go of his hand, but Ben doesn't feel as adrift as he thought. "Snoke manipulated you."

"Yeah, but I still—I did it. Because I was selfish, and scared—I thought Dad was going to cut off our lessons, and I—"

"Oh, _Ben,"_ Uncle Luke says. Another person who should rejoice that he was right all along about Snoke, and yet he's not, he's worried about Ben instead.

"Shh," Dad says, reaching out to pat Ben's shoulder. "It's all right. It's all right."

"How can you _say_ that?" Ben demands.

"Because we're going to make it all right." Dad reaches down and gingerly lifts him up, wrapping his arms around him, and Ben caves, burying the uninjured half of his face into his father's neck.

"Please don't hate me," he pleads.

"I'll never hate you. Not ever," Dad promises. "God, Ben, we want to _help_ you."

A throat clears, and Ben lifts his face, sticky with tears and smarting. He sees Poe's parents watching with soft smiles, Mrs. Dameron with her arm around Poe, who holds Finn's hand. Uncle Luke's hands rest on Rey's shoulders.

"So," says a voice from the doorway. Lando Calrissian. "I take it you've told them."

"Yeah."

"Your recording was pretty impressive," Lando says. "I'll have to interview you—all of you—when you're out of here. Poe Dameron, if it's all right with your parents, I'd like to talk to you later today, now that we're all shoveled out and everything."

Mr. Dameron nods. "That's fine."

"Great." Lando turns to Uncle Luke. "I'll be in touch regarding interviewing Finn and Rey."

Uncle Luke nods. "I think it's time for us to go home. Both of you need to rest."

Rey glances back at Ben, and he smiles at her.

"I can't text," she reminds him.

"His phone's evidence anyways," Lando points out.

"It's fine," Poe says. "Beebee-Ate will survive one day without you seeing his picture."

Rey slips back towards him to kiss Ben again. She, Uncle Luke, Finn, and the Damerons file out. Chewie hesitates.

"You can stay," Dad tells him. "You too, Threepio."

Chewie nods, offering Ben a small smile. Threepio blinks.

Lando sighs, turning serious. "Ben, you know I'm going to have to charge you."

Hearing it voiced for absolute certainty makes Ben want to throw up. "I know."

"I wouldn't worry too much, though," Lando says quickly. "It's your first offense, and given the circumstances, I'm guessing your cooperation and maybe an agreement to testify will get you off pretty easily. We're not talking about jail time here."

"We're not?" Ben gapes.

"Probably not."

Dad's hand is strong against his shoulder. "I'll take him in to the station when he's out of here."

"Sounds good," Lando agrees.

"You're going to be fine," Mom says, and for the first time, Ben dares to hope so.


	19. Chapter 19

**Thanks for reading, everyone! Enjoy the last chapter (which is kind of more of an epilogue).**

* * *

"I can't let you see Snoke, Han," Lando intervenes as soon as he walks through the door of the police station.

"I know," Han says, jaw clenched. His heart aches as he remembers Ben sobbing in his shoulder, as he ponders all of the guilt his son must feel. The guil Han himself feels almost drowns him. "Dr. Kalonia says she'll release him in two days. Can Chewie stay with him, when I take him down here?"

Lando nods. "Of course. Probably be for the best. The kid'll be terrified."

Maybe. Or maybe not. Han shakes his head. "Any chance Snoke will plead guilty?"

"I doubt it. But we'll see. With the recording and Ben's testimony, plus the physical evidence—it'll be enough to send him away for a long, long time." Lando rolls his eyes. "Arson's serious enough. Attempted murder, assault and battery—he's not going anywhere. No judge will even grant him bail."

"Can I hear it?" Han requests. "Leia doesn't want to—not yet, not unless she has to in a courtroom. But I—I need to, Lando."

Lando walks over to his laptop. "Here." He plays the recording he's downloaded from Ben's phone.

Snoke's voice sneaks through the air, sending rage shooting through Han. _"What did you come here for, Ben Solo?"_

Han listens, cringing as he hears Snoke beating his son. _That can't be the first time_. Han wants to throw up by the rime Rey's voice screams.

When it ends, Lando sighs. "Don't blame yourself. You did all you could."

"Not enough," Han manages.

"Your son loves you. Ben does. And if this recording's any indication, kid could have a good career in police work." Lando smirks. "Though I think he's meant for more than that."

Han swallows. "Thanks, Lando."

 _Ben loves you. He does._ And what matters most is that Han loves him. Ben might not fully believe it yet, but he'll get there. For the first time in years, Han feels like there's hope.

* * *

Three days later, Poe ducks inside the Takodana Pizzeria with his father. Ben's been released from the hospital, and Poe knows that Han was taking him to the police station afterwards. Ms. Organa invited Poe and his parents, as well as Rey, Finn, and Mr. Skywalker to come over and have an actual board game night.

"Your order is almost ready," the boy with blue hair recites in a bored voice. Dad nods.

"I'll just use the restroom, then," Poe says. As he washes his hands, the door opens behind him, and in the mirror, Poe sees Hux's red hair. The boy hasn't been bothering him lately, although he's relentlessly torturing Ben.

"Going to jump me?" Poe asks, heart picking up pace. "Because my parents are right outside."

Hux scoffs. " _No_." He crosses his arms, blocking the door. He may be taller than Poe by a good four or so inches, but Poe doesn't have time for this.

"You got something you want to say?" Poe prompts.

Hux glowers.

Poe rolls his eyes. "How's suspension treating you?"

"Better than it's treating all of you, apparently. Is it true Solo's face is all burned up?"

"Shut the hell up."

Hux snorts. "I don't see why you're defending him. He's a criminal now, right? It was in the paper. He almost got you all killed. Oh, and he suggested we slash your tires."

Po doesn't give a rip. "You know what's also criminal, Hux? Vandalism. You know what's vandalism? Slashing tires, and throwing a brick through someone's window. In fact, given the circumstances, that might even be a hate crime."

Hux shifts and picks what appears to be an orange cat hair off of his pristine black shirt.

"Got a cat?" Poe asks.

Hux nods, twirling the strand between his fingers. "Her name's Millicent."

"My cat's Beebee-Ate."

Hux raises an eyebrow at the name. Poe rolls his eyes and pushes past him. "Never mind."

"How are your parents so okay with it?" Hux demands after him.

"With _what?"_

"You and Finn." Hux bites his lip.

"Um, because there's nothing wrong with it?"

Hux crosses his arms. "My dad would disagree."

"Good thing your dad's not God." Poe watches the redheaded boy flush and suddenly all of his seeming irrational homophobia—it makes sense. "Oh my God."

"What?" Hux's eyes widen.

"You. You're—oh my God." Poe gapes at him.

Hux looks like he wants to hit Poe, but the threat of expulsion looms over both of them.

"Hey," Poe says. "It's okay. I won't tell anyone."

"You're wrong," Hux states.

"Whatever, bro." Poe rolls his eyes and leaves. Dad's holding the pizza boxes, and they spend the evening playing Clue (Poe's favorite), Hearts (Finn's favorite), Taboo (Rey's favorite), and even Exploding Kittens (Ben's favorite).

The gauze still covers Ben's face, but judging by the look on Rey's face, none of it matters to her. She loves Ben, and he knows. Just like Finn loves Poe, and Poe knows.

* * *

Two weeks later, Ben sits in the police station for the first time since the day his father took him to get booked. Dad wasn't allowed, but Chewie hovered in the distance the entire time Ben had been photographed and fingerprinted, providing a silent source of strength whenever the shame threatened to double Ben over.

Luke has been reinstated as principal, albeit on a conditional basis. His uncle, like everyone, proved entirely too forgiving.

Returning to school hadn't been easy. Phasma took no time in mocking his face, but Hux was strangely quiet.

"So we have a pretty good bargain," his lawyer, Lor San Tekka, says to him with a soft look. "No jail time. Twenty hours of community service, and your testimony against Snoke unless he also agrees to plead guilty. Plus, your record will be sealed when you become an adult."

Ben nods, fingers tightening around the pen as he scrawls his name. _Ben Solo._

When he leaves the station, Lando gives him a nod.

"Good job, kid," Dad says, wrapping an arm around him. "I'm proud of you."

Ben sighs. "I can't believe I was so stupid, though."

"Someday, your mother and I will tell you about my… young adult years," Han says. "Maybe."

Ben tosses him a quizzical look.

"I may have narrowly avoided arrest one year in college. Our spring break was—interesting…"

Ben groans. "I have the feeling I don't want to hear more."

"Not unless you want to hear about your mother and the gold bikini," Dad agrees.

Ben plugs his ears. "Please stop!"

"Mom took Rey out shopping for prom," Dad says, changing the subject.

Ben removes his fingers from his ears.

"She's a good kid," Dad adds.

"I don't know why she likes me," Ben admits as they drive off.

"Kid, I ask myself that about your mother every damn day. Adults don't have it all figured out."

* * *

Finn watches as Rey stumbles back into the house with several shopping bags hauling down her arms, grinning.

"Can I see?" Finn asks, jumping up to peek into the bag. " _Ooh_. Ben's going to faint."

"So will Poe," Rey teases. "That suit you got last weekend is _hot_."

"If any of you drink," Luke calls from the kitchen as Artoo starts to bat at the plastic bag. "I will personally ground both of you again, and take your new phones away."

"We won't!" Finn promises.

Rey jerks the bag away from Artoo. "Knock it off!"

"Rey," Luke says, coming into the room and leaning on his arm, which he perches against the wall. "I'd like to talk to you."

"Okay. Can I just—put this stuff away?"

"Of course." Luke watches her go, swallowing.

"Is everything okay?" Finn asks.

"Yeah." Luke nods but the solemnity in his eyes doesn't convince Finn.

"What's up?" Rey asks, new phone in her hand.

"I was wondering if you'd seen in the paper." Luke clears his throat. "It seems a certain mechanic from Jakku was recently arrested for fraud."

"Unkar Plutt?"

"Mm-hm."

"Well, _good_ ," Rey declares. "I'm not surprised."

"The DA dropped found something in his house," Luke continues. "That she dropped off for me today."

"What?" Rey looks to Finn as if he can help her.

Luke points to a stack of envelopes on the coffee table. Slowly, Rey rises and looks at them. She gasps.

"What is it?" Finn demands.

"Letters… from my mother. He never gave them to me!" Rey cries in anger as she rifles through the pile. "She stopped sending them five years ago."

"I know. I can't find a record of her," Luke says.

"She stopped," Rey repeats.

"But she cared enough to write to you," Finn says, biting his lip because he'd give anything for his parents to have done likewise.

But it's okay that they didn't. Finn glances to Luke.

Rey' shoves the pile away from her. "Not one of them has a return address." She snorts. "She still gave up on me. And she left me with Unkar, knowing what he was."

"Rey—" Finn begins.

"Do you know he propositioned me?" Rey asks. "When he was drunk, he wanted to sleep with me. I barricaded myself in my room so he wouldn't be able to rape me." She covers her face. Finn doesn't know what to say, but he knows what he would like to do to Unkar Plutt. Take his arms off, for one.

"I'm so sorry," Luke says.

When she removes her hands, Rey's face is dry, but red. "I don't want to read these," she says brokenly, pushing them towards Luke. "Not now. Maybe later."

Luke nods, kneeling to scoop the letters up in his arm.

"I think I need therapy, too," Rey remarks.

"I think that's a good idea," Luke says, hand on Rey's shoulder.

"It's good stuff," Finn assures her.

"Ben's getting a double dose of it," Rey admits. "Their whole family's going together, and he's going by himself."

"Good for him," Finn says, and means it.

"Do you think I'm wrong?" Rey asks Luke and Finn, pulling Artoo onto her lap. "For not reading the letters?"

"It's entirely your decision," Luke says. "Whatever you want to do is the right choice."

"No," Finn says. "I mean, I might have. If I were you. But I don't think you're wrong. You're right—she still left you. Letters don't change that."

"I'd really rather just concentrate on what's ahead of me, not on what's behind," Rey admits.

"Me too," Finn says. He wants to want that. He's still not sure he entirely does. In some ways, definitely. In others… he'll get there.

That's all that matters.

* * *

"Yo!" Poe struts through Luke's door the night of prom, dressed in a black tux, hair as glossy and unkempt as ever.

"Poe, would you just comb—"

"No, Mom."

Rey snickers as she tries to wedge her foot into a silver high-heeled shoe. Silver earrings, borrowed from Leia, dangle from her ears, and her hair is loose and wavy.

"You match," Poe declares as Finn arrives, wearing a deep purple suit that's a similar shade to Rey's dress. Rey smirks as she sees Poe bite his lip and run his eyes up and down his boyfriend. "I like the color. It suits you."

Finn kisses him briefly and then frowns, lifting an cat hair off of Poe's suit. "Beebee-Ate got you?"

"Hazards of owning a cat," Poe admits as his mother ushers him and Finn over by the brick fireplace, where she snaps photos. Rey sits back, watching.

The door opens behind her, and she turns to see Ben entering, with Han and Leia behind him. Ben doesn't quite faint, but his jaw drops when he sees her.

Rey straightens her gown as she gets to her feet.

"You look incredible," he murmurs, taking her in his arms.

"So do you," she says sincerely. _Scar and all._ And with significantly toned down eyeliner.

"I like the lipstick," he comments on the eggplant shade Leia bought for her.

"You can't kiss me until after photos," Rey says. "Or else you'll be wearing it, too."

He rolls his eyes.

"You two, now!" Leia calls, directly Rey and Ben over to the fireplace, where they pose together, and then Finn and Poe join them for some shots of the four of them.

"Enough with the serious ones," Poe declares. "Come on, now."

Ben grabs Rey and swings her sideways. Finn grabs her waist, Poe her legs as she winks at the camera. "Me and my harem."

"Watch it!" Finn shoves her playfully.

Poe drives them to dinner, and then to their prom. It's the first time since the fire his parents have let him use the car.

"Oh look," drawls a voice as they arrive at the town hall, where the prom is being held in light of the gymnasium still being a burned shell. "The Breakfast Club."

"Is that supposed to be an insult, Phasma? Because I would've thought you could do far better," Poe snips as he takes Finn's hand.

Phasma scowls, her elbow interlocked with Hux's.

"You look nice," Rey tells the other girl, whose eyes widen in surprise.

"Thanks." Phasma doesn't sound convinced.

"Daddy got you out of jail?" Hux goads Ben. Poe rolls his eyes.

"Oh, grow up," Finn says.

"Yeah, pretty much," Ben replies simply. He takes Rey's arm. "Let's go in."

"I don't know how to dance," Rey admits as they enter the throng of students. The lights are dim and glow a mint green.

"Neither do I." He chuckles. "At least not like that." He nods to Finn and Poe, who clearly are more than able to dance.

"We can look like fools," Rey suggests, wrapping her arms around Ben's neck. "We don't have to be geniuses at everything. You'll still like me if I trip and fall and break your foot, won't you?"

Ben starts to smile, and Rey wonders whether he's ever really listened to the idea that people like him beyond just his abilities. _You're not supposed to be somebody's tool._

 _I love you._ For Rey, in Ben's face, beyond his scar, she sees infinite possibilities for his future. His scar only adds to his appearance. And for the first time in years for herself, Rey thinks her own eyes might reflect the same chances, and her scars don't have to hold her back. "Let's dance?"

Ben pulls her onto the dance floor. "I've got a good feeling about this."


End file.
